Olivier Giroud scored the only goal as Chelsea defeated Liverpool 1-0 to heat up the race for Champions League places.Chelsea took full advantage of Tottenham’s shock defeat to West Brom by grinding out a hard-fought 1-0 win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, closing to within two points of the Champions League places.
Antonio Conte’s men had appeared almost out of the running for Champions League football until recently, but Olivier Giroud’s first-half header secured them a fourth successive top-flight win and they go into the final two games of the season within striking distance of Spurs.
Liverpool actually looked the brighter of the two sides for most of the first half, with Sadio Mane producing three decent efforts before the half-hour mark passed.
But the hosts were simply more clinical, as Giroud headed in one of Chelsea’s few opportunities in the 32nd minute, repaying Antonio Conte’s faith after an ineffective performance in last week’s 1-0 win at Swansea City.
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