Chelsea consolidate top-4 place as Leeds sink deeper into trouble

Chelsea moved to the brink of qualifying for next season's Champions League as they pushed Leeds closer to relegation from the Premier League with a 3-0 victory on Wednesday.

Thomas Tuchel's side won for the first time since Todd Boehly's consortium agreed a deal to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich last week.

Mason Mount opened the scoring in the early stages at Elland Road and Leeds suffered another blow when Daniel James was sent off.

Christian Pulisic bagged Chelsea's second goal after half-time and Romelu Lukaku wrapped up the Blues' first win in four games.

Third-placed Chelsea are now eight points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham and will be guaranteed a top-four finish if Antonio Conte's team fail to beat fourth-placed Arsenal on Thursday.

Arresting their worrying recent slump was the ideal preparation for Chelsea ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley.

While Chelsea look to end the season on a high, Leeds are in grave danger of relegation.

Jesse Marsch's men sit third-bottom of the table, behind fourth-bottom Burnley on goal difference.

Burnley have three games left compared to only two for Leeds, who host Brighton and travel to Brentford in the matches that will decide if their two-season stay in the top flight is destined to end with a return to the Championship.

Leeds fell into the bottom three for the first time since October 30 after losing at Arsenal on Sunday and the lack of composure that unhinged them on that occasion was quickly visible again.

Mount gave Chelsea the perfect start in the fourth minute as he ran onto Reece James' pass and curled a brilliant strike into the top corner from the edge of the area.

That took the edge of the febrile Elland Road atmosphere and Leeds' fans became even