London (AFP)

Chelsea scored a major success in the Champions League race by beating West Ham (1-0) on Saturday for the 33rd day of the Premier League as Liverpool can bite their fingers after their draw at home (1-1) against Newcastle.

.

Chelsea play Chelsea

Big defensive performance, control of the match, victory 1 to 0, Chelsea made Chelsea on the field of West Ham and seizes the 4th place which sends in C1.

Tied on points with the Hammers (5th) before this match, the Blues consolidate their accessit for the prestigious European competition.

The game will not be remembered in terms of spectacle, as real scoring chances have been quite rare.

The Blues have relied on their main qualities since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel on their bench but were able to count on a goal from Timo Werner just before the break - his second only in 23 matches since the beginning of November - to take the ascending (1-0, 43rd) after a great collective action and a perfect cross from Ben Chilwell.

Three days before their semi-final first leg of the Champions League, the time was not for frills for Chelsea who recorded their 16th game without taking a goal in all competitions since the arrival of the German.

The red card sent ten minutes from the end, after recourse to the VAR, to West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena, made the task of the Blues easier.

But in an insane program that includes a double confrontation with Real, a trip to Manchester City and a double confrontation with Leicester, the second of which in the FA Cup final, over the next 7 matches, there is no small profits for Chelsea.

.

Liverpool "didn't deserve"

A slew of missed opportunities and an equalizer in added time, Liverpool let slip two points that should never have escaped them against Newcastle (1-1).

With 54 points after 33 days, the Reds remain 6th but see their delay on Chelsea, 4th, go to 4 units.

Newcastle increased their lead over the red zone to 9 units.

For their return to Anfield after the psychodrama of the Super League earlier this week, the Reds have not escaped the ire of their supporters, in the form of banners on the way to the stadium.

The American owner Fenway Sport Group took for his rank: "FSG traitors" or "Enough is enough, FSG out!"

, the general feeling was clearly expressed.

But after this match, the chances of seeing C1 again at Anfield next year are further reduced.

"If we play like this and don't kill matches like this, why should we be in the Champions League?" Klopp said after the match.

"We want to deserve the Champions League (...) but with results like this, we do not deserve it," he continued.

Klopp had yet opted for an offensive eleven with Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota holders at kickoff.

An option that quickly paid off with a magnificent goal from the Egyptian, author of a control oriented on a bell ball followed by a recovery in half-volley for the opener (1-0, 3rd) .

But then the Reds missed everything.

Jota (24th, 28th), Mané (27th, 40th) and Salah (36th) should have killed the match before the break, or Firmino (57th) and Mané (80th) after.

And what had to happen has happened.

After a goal canceled by the VAR for contact of the ball with the arm of Callum Wilson (90th + 1), the Magpies forced their luck, when Joe Willock found himself alone at the penalty spot, to see his shot deflected ( 1-1, 90th + 4), plunge Liverpool into a new disillusionment.

© 2021 AFP