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• Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta

  Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

  Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.

  Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.

  Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.

  Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.

  The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.

  Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.

  Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.

  Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.  

• 'Just work hard mate' – Postecoglou's simple answer to Tottenham's tricky question

  Tottenham simply have to put in the hard graft as they look to salvage something from what is turning out to be a disappointing end to the campaign.

  Spurs' Champions League hopes appear to be fading fast after they lost for a third straight game in the Premier League, going down 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

  Tottenham have four games remaining, albeit that includes meetings with Liverpool and Manchester City, and they are seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.

  They were particularly vulnerable from set-pieces once again, with both of Chelsea's goals coming from such scenarios.

  Asked how Spurs can turn it around, Postecoglou said told BBC Sport: "Just hard work mate, there's no major formula. We will work hard and make sure we get it right."

  He added: "It wasn't a great night for us. We didn't play at the levels we needed to and didn't deserve something from it.

  "We lacked belief and conviction in our game. I don't know if it is low confidence but we are not playing with the mindset we need to play the football we want to and that is something I have to look at.

  "It is on me to fix it. That is what we will be doing. We had bigger issues tonight than set pieces."

  Speaking to Sky Sports, the Tottenham boss said: "I feel like we've lost a bit of belief and conviction in our football and that is on me to change that.

  "It wasn't about conceding the [first] goal, it was our approach to playing football and we were nowhere near good enough. That is on me.

  "We've been in a bit of a grind for a while now, that is part of our challenge and part of our growth. We have to go out there and perform and sometimes you have to grind out. We were poor today."

  Spurs defender Micky van de Ven, meanwhile, conceded Champions League qualification looks out of sight.

  "It will be difficult. I don't want to look up to the Champions League after this game, it was not a good performance from us and it is important we play a good game on Sunday," he said.

  Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, became the first manager to complete a Premier League double over Tottenham having previously managed them in the competition.

  Chelsea are up to eighth, just three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United.

  "So happy and so pleased. So happy for our players," Pochettino said.

  "The first half was fantastic. Then you have to contain and suffer. Tottenham have quality players. Not too much to say, all credit to the players."

• Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Chalobah and Jackson goals dent Spurs' top-four hopes

  Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson scored as Chelsea dealt a huge blow to Tottenham's Champions League hopes, recording a 2-0 derby win over Mauricio Pochettino's old club at Stamford Bridge.

  Exactly eight years on from the memorable "Battle of the Bridge" between the teams, which saw nine Spurs players booked in a fiery 2-2 draw that confirmed Leicester City as champions, Chelsea inflicted more woe upon their rivals.

  Spurs paid for lacklustre set-piece defending midway through the first half as Chalobah headed Conor Gallagher's free-kick home, then Jackson pounced when Cole Palmer rattled the crossbar from another dead ball 72 minutes in.

  Ange Postecoglou's side were far from their free-flowing best and have now lost three straight Premier League games. They stay fifth, seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with just one game in hand.

  Chelsea, meanwhile, climb above West Ham into eighth, just three points adrift of Manchester United in sixth.

  The Blues went agonisingly close to a fifth-minute lead as Jackson raced through on goal to slot his effort under Guglielmo Vicario, but Micky van de Ven raced back to hook it off the line and Palmer could not sort his feet out on the rebound.

  Chelsea were ahead after 24 minutes, though, as Chalobah met Gallagher's deep free-kick with a looping header into the top-right corner, the goal being confirmed by VAR following a check for a possible foul by Marc Cucurella.

  Mykhailo Mudryk went close with a curling effort as Tottenham continued to toil, the visitors' best chance of the first half coming when Cristian Romero headed Pedro Porro's free-kick wide.

  Ange Postecoglou cut an animated figure before half-time, and his side improved after the restart, but Chelsea could have had a second when Palmer shot over at the end of a promising break.

  Chelsea did double their advantage with 18 minutes to play, the opportunistic Jackson heading into an unguarded net after Palmer's free-kick clattered off the woodwork with Vicario at full stretch.

  Tottenham never looked like responding from there, and they now need a minor miracle to secure a top-four finish.

  Pochettino haunts former employers

  Having also overseen Chelsea's memorable 4-1 win in November's return fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Pochettino completed a league double over his former employers.

  He is the first coach to ever beat Spurs home and away in a single Premier League campaign having previously managed them in the competition.

  The Argentine's first season at Stamford Bridge may not have gone entirely to plan, but there may just be green shoots of recovery emerging in the closing weeks of the campaign.

  Having endured a run of one win in 14 home Premier League games between March and November last year (seven draws, six losses), Chelsea – who face West Ham next – have now won eight of their last 10 on their own turf (one draw, one defeat).

  Set-pieces costing Spurs

  Tottenham have a set-piece problem. Arsenal ruthlessly exploited some slack marking from their neighbours to score two goals from corners in Sunday's north London derby, and on Thursday, it was two free-kicks that undid Postecoglou's men.

  Prior to this game, Spurs had conceded 12 goals from set-pieces, excluding penalties, in the Premier League this season. Only Manchester United (15.3) and Burnley (14.9) had allowed opponents a higher cumulative expected goals (xG) figure from such situations than their 14.3.

  They did not learn their lesson, Emerson Royal and Brennan Johnson getting nowhere near Chalobah as he headed home from a routine delivery to the back post for the opener.

  Those fine margins could prove incredibly costly, with Tottenham now a long way adrift of top-four rivals Aston Villa with daunting fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City still to come.