Chelsea defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground to return to the Champions League, while Aston Villa missed out on the European competition with 2-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Chelsea knew that, regardless of the results earned by their Champions League rivals Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa, they would finish in a qualification place for the first time since the 2021/22 season with victory over Forest.
Levi Colwill – whose own-goal for Huddersfield in the Championship play-off final promoted Forest to the top flight three years ago – struck shortly after half-time to put the Blues in front.
Transfer: Bayer Leverkusen to appoint Ten Hag as coach, Amorim orders Garnacho to leave Man Utd
Defeats for Newcastle and Villa meant Chelsea could afford to draw and still find themselves in the top five, but their focus rarely wavered as they kept Forest’s blunt attack at bay with a determined defensive display.
Champions League: Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham (Europa League winners)
Europa League: Aston Villa, Crystal Palace (FA Cup winners)
Conference League: Nottingham Forest
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