Chelsea beats Watford 3-0 to move into 3rd place in EPL

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea moved into third place in the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Watford on Sunday after two goals in a three-minute span after the break helped the club to close in on a Champions League spot next season.

Chelsea had been booed off at halftime with the score still 0-0 at Stamford Bridge but Ruben Loftus-Cheek provided the breakthrough with a header in the 48th minute and David Luiz netted the second just three minutes later from another corner.

Gonzalo Higuain added the third with an elegant chip past goalkeeper Ben Foster from a difficult angle as Chelsea took full advantage of Tottenham’s loss on Saturday to move into third place. It means Maurizio Sarri’s team only needs a win against Leicester in the final round to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football next season. It could even clinch a top-four spot if Arsenal fails to beat Brighton at home later Sunday.

Eden Hazard was back in the starting lineup after being on the bench against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semifinals on Thursday and set up the first two goals with deliveries into the box.

The only negative for Chelsea was N’Golo Kante having to come off injured after just 10 minutes, with Loftus-Cheek coming on as his replacement.