Caicedo scores from halfway as Chelsea ends Premier League season with fifth straight win
LONDON (AP) — Moises Caicedo scored in David Beckham style from near the halfway line Sunday to help Chelsea end a chaotic Premier League season with a fifth straight victory.
A 2-1 win over Bournemouth clinched sixth place and a spot in Europe after an up-and-down first season for manager Mauricio Pochettino, whose future at the club remains uncertain going into the offseason.
Caicedo provided a highlight-reel goal in the 17th minute when the midfielder took possession of a loose pass from Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto and lobbed it in from just inside the visitors' half.
Raheem Sterling added a second goal just after the break, the ball deflecting in off Neto, while Bournemouth quickly got one back with an own-goal by Benoit Badiashile.
Chelsea finished three points ahead of Newcastle and Manchester United, but will have to wait until the FA Cup final on Saturday before knowing which European competition it will play in next season. If United beats Manchester City — which clinched its fourth straight Premier League title on Sunday — in that final, Chelsea will be pushed into the third-tier Europa Conference League, with United earning a Europa League spot. If City wins the double, Chelsea will play in the second-tier Europa League.
Caicedo's goal came after Neto raced from his goal to thwart Sterling, but his wayward pass only found its way to Caicedo. The Ecuadorian unleashed a punt from a yard inside the Bournemouth half that dropped in beneath the crossbar to bring back memories of one of David Beckham's most famous goals.
Beckham scored from a similar distance for Manchester United on the opening day of the 1996-97 season against Wimbledon in what has become a classic goal.
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