Chelsea recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win over Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to move into the Premier League top four.
Enzo Maresca handed Wesley Fofana a first start since his return to injury as a right-back after the duo of Reece James, and Malo Gusto missed out .
The Blues needed the win to overtake Manchester City in fourth after Pep Guardiola’s men suffered a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Chelsea dominated proceedings from the beginning of the encounter and their first real chance fell to Cole Palmer, who missed from the penalty spot for the first time in his Premier League career.
Jadon Sancho was fouled by Kristensen before the referee pointed to the spot, Palmer’s low effort was parried away by Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen.
Palmer’s recent drought extended to six games, and his impressive run of scoring 12 consecutive penalties in the Premier League ended with the miss.
The Blues came out of the second period with intent, and purpose in a bid to break the deadlock before Marc Cucurella showed up on the hour mark.
The Spanish defender scored from outside the box in the 60th minute to give Chelsea a deserved lead.
Leicester City also struggled to threaten the hosts with only three touches in the opposition box.
Chelsea survived a late pressure from the relegation threatened visitors to earn a vital win which boosted their hopes of returning to the Champions League.
The victory moved Enzo Maresca’s men into fourth, two points above fifth-placed Manchester City ahead of the last 10 games of the season.
For Leicester City, they are rooted in the 19th position with 17 points from 28 games, and they will be back in action in the Premier League against Manchester United next Sunday at the King Power Stadium.
Chelsea will take on Arsenal next Sunday in the Premier League, but they have a date against Copenhagen in the second leg of their Europe Conference League round of 16 clash at Stamford Bridge.