Manchester United secure Champions League football with comfortable win over Chelsea

Manchester United secured qualification for next season's Champions League as Erik ten Hag’s men roared to a comprehensive 4-1 victory against wasteful Chelsea.

The Dutchman has led the Red Devils to Carabao Cup glory and next month’s FA Cup final during a promising first season that looked certain to end in a top-four finish until a recent wobble.

But Ten Hag has righted the ship and United secured a return to European football’s top table with a game to spare as Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scored against toothless Chelsea.

This was a club record 16th defeat in a 38-match Premier League season for Frank Lampard’s Blues, who saw a bad early Mykhailo Mudryk miss punished by a sixth minute Casemiro header.

Further Chelsea chances went begging across the evening, including the miss by Conor Gallagher in first half stoppage time that was followed by Martial scoring.

Bruno Fernandes’ penalty and substitute Marcus Rashford’s goal – his 30th of the season in all competitions – wrapped up a victory that was only dampened by Antony’s exit on a stretcher and a late Joao Felix consolation.

Ten Hag stuck with the side that beat Bournemouth and took an early lead when Christian Eriksen sent over a free-kick from the left and Casemiro rose high to power a header past statuesque Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The Brazil international punched the air after the goal was given the green light by the VAR after checking for offside.

Things could have been so different had Mudryk – one of Chelsea’s three changes– displayed a modicum of composure two minutes earlier.

With Aaron Wan-Bissaka drawn inside and Antony failing to track Lewis Hall’s run, the winger somehow turned wide after the promising left-back put it on a plate for