London: Two second half goals one each by Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho assured Chelsea to topple Leicester City 2-1 victory and a places behind the first two in the Premier League.
At the Stamford Bridge, here on late Wednesday night (IST), even though Super Frankie Lampard wasn't completely forgotten in the repertoire of songs, the stadium was finally able to serenade Thomas Tuchel and found so much to be appreciative of.
A year-long wait finally saw 8,000 Chelsea fans make the most of it as they dislodged Leicester from third place heading into the Premier League finale.
The fans saw why Chelsea, ruthlessly perhaps, fired Lampard in January and replaced the club legend with Tuchel.
"It was amazing and exactly what we want. Everybody who comes to the stadium to be happy and feel this energy from this team because this is what this team can always deliver," the German manager said.
Oh, and there's also still a Champions League final to complete the season on May 29 against Manchester City.
It wasn't delivering under Lampard, who left the team five points from the top four. Chelsea will be certain of finishing in one of the four Champions League spots by beating Aston Villa on Sunday.
Chelsea had the better of the first-half chances, with Ben Chilwell firing across goal early on and Timo Werner having one goal disallowed for handball and another for offside.
Rudiger eventually broke the deadlock two minutes after the break, tucking the ball home after Chilwell's corner was deflected into his path.
The hosts were then awarded a penalty after a Video Assistant Referee review for a Wesley Fofana foul on Werner, which had originally been awarded as a free-kick. Jorginho sent Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way from 12 yards.
Leicester substitute Kelechi Iheanacho benefited from Wilfred Ndidi's pressing to reduce the arrears 14 minutes from time and Ayoze Perez had a presentable late chance to grab an equaliser, but he fired over.
What anguish, though, for Leicester. The FA Cup was picked up on Saturday for the first time - by beating Chelsea - and Leicester has been in the top four all 36 rounds. But by the time the 37th round ends, Leicester will have dropped to fifth if Liverpool wins at Burnley.
While the title has already been sealed by Manchester City, and Manchester United will be runner-up, the tussle for the final two Champions League spots is setting up a thrilling final day.
While N'Golo Kante went off for Chelsea with a hamstring injury, Ilkay Gündogan came off with a leg injury in Manchester City's 3-2 loss at Brighton, 11 days before the Champions League final.
Gundogan had scored the opener in the second minute before the champions had Joao Cancelo sent off for bringing down Danny Welbeck.
Although Phil Foden doubled City's lead at the start of the second half, goals from Leandro Trossard, Adam Webster and Dan Burn completed the recovery for 15th-place Brighton.
Manchester United's protesting fans were back inside Old Trafford, legally this time, and were treated to a wonder goal by Edinson Cavani in a 1-1 draw against already-relegated Fulham.
Spotting goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was off his line, Cavani - helped on by a flick from Bruno Fernandes, chipped the ball from about 50 yards (meters) into the net.
The United fans saw why the team needs more investment to strengthen itself by failing to hold onto the lead when Joe Bryan headed Fulham level.
Patrick Bamford scored his 16th goal of the season and Tyler Roberts rolled the ball into the net to give Leeds a 2-0 win over Southampton that clinches a top-half finish in its first season back in the Premier League since 2004.
Torino earns vital point to avoid relegation
Rome: Torino ensured it will remain in Serie A next season after playing Lazio to a 0-0 draw that also confirmed Benevento's relegation.
Lazio top scorer Ciro Immobile hit the post in an 84th-minute penalty and Manuel Lazzari's header late in injury time also hit the woodwork on Tuesday. The match had been rescheduled from earlier this season due to a coronavirus outbreak.
Torino now holds a four-point lead over 18th-place Benevento with one game remaining. Benevento, Crotone and Parma will play in the second division next season.
