Manchester United confirmed UEFA Champions League qualification with a 4-1 victory over Chelsea, extending their unbeaten run at Old Trafford to 28 games in all competitions in the process.
Shortly after Mykhailo Mudryk had missed a glorious chance at the other end, Casemiro sent them on their way by heading Christian Eriksen’s free-kick beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga to give his side the lead.
There was unlikely to be a Chelsea fan in the away end that was surprised to see the Red Devils double their advantage in the sixth minute of first-half injury time, as Anthony Martial tapped Jadon Sancho’s through ball into an empty net.
The strike shortly before HT was a blow to the morale of a team already low on confidence and, although Mudryk was denied by David de Gea, Chelsea were lucky not to be further behind, as Arrizabalaga needed to scramble to palm Eriksen’s flick away from the goalline.
At times, Frank Lampard’s outfit looked like a cohesive unit, which is something of a rarity this campaign, but it was the same old story whenever they got a sight of goal, with De Gea never really troubled by efforts from the impressive Lewis Hall and Havertz.
And the result was put beyond doubt midway through the second half, when Fernandes netted a penalty, after the Portuguese midfielder was fouled in the area by the disappointing Wesley Fofana.
They end the season at home against Newcastle United on Sunday, and the final whistle in that match cannot come quickly enough for a Blues side looking back on a campaign to forget.
