Olivier Giroud scores as Chelsea down Norwich at Stamford Bridge

– Olivier Giroud netted the only goal of the match to help Chelsea cement their place in the top four

– New signing Hakim Ziyech was in the stands to cheer the Stamford Bridge club

Chelsea has taken a huge step towards finishing in the top after they secured a 1-0 crucial win over already-relegated Norwich City.

The Tuesday night, July 14, clash played at Stamford Bridge saw Olivier Giroud net the only goal of the match to hand the Blues all the three points.

Frank Lampard made five changes from the side that suffered a shock defeat to Sheffield United at the weekend.

With both Man United and Leicester City faltering in their Champions League football charge, Chelsea needed nothing short of a win to increase their chances of finishing in the top four.

The west London side started off the clash on a bright note, making a few decent crosses in the opening exchanges of the meeting.

Giroud went closest to breaking the deadlock in the 20th minute after a clever play by Jorginho but the Frenchman failed to properly connect with his attempted finish.

Marcos Alonso also went close seven minutes later only for the Spaniard’s effort to fly the wrong side of the near post.

The home side had to wait until the stroke of half-time to break the deadlock through Giroud who spun away from Klose in the middle before thumps in a diving header from six yards.

The second half of the match did not produce any goal as Chelsea held on to sneak home a much-needed win.

The Lampard-tutored side has effectively cemented their place in third with 63 points with two fixtures to end the season.