The prospect of going into the final day of the season outside the top-five was starting to dawn on Chelsea fans when Reece James received the ball on edge of the Manchester United penalty box.
There were less than 20 minutes left at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea’s hopes of Champions League qualification were looking increasingly precarious with rivals Aston Villa already in the winners’ enclosure against a Tottenham reserve team.
But James showed the kind of coolness that great players do in situations like this to turn the situation on its head.