Chelsea clinch Champions League as Mount, Giroud goals down Wolves

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:15 am

Chelsea clinched their place in next season's Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Wolves to finish their Premier League campaign on Sunday.

A 5-3 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday meant a loss against Wolves could have seen Frank Lampard's side fall out of the top four places and likely miss out on the Champions League.

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Wolves, who were assured of a Europa League place in the league and could still qualify for the Champions League if they win the competition this season, matched their hosts in the opening exchanges.

However, Chelsea took the lead in superb fashion in first-half stoppage time as Mason Mount fired in a thunderous effort to open the scoring.

And just two minutes later Olivier Giroud extended Chelsea's lead as the France forward became the first player in Premier League history to score in first-half stoppage time in three successive games.

Incidentally, he also scored just before half-time in the FA Cup semifinal victory over Manchester United. 

Should Chelsea have finished outside the top four this season, they would have had the chance to qualify for the Champions League by winning it this season, though their chances look slim, having lost the first leg of their round-of-16 clash at home to Bayern Munich 3-0.

Wolves end the campaign in seventh place, while Manchester United's victory over Leicester saw Chelsea finish fourth.