Europa League: Chelsea Lift Trophy with Awesome Jubilation

Posted on by Newswatchnigeria

 

  • Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal
  • Giroud converts with diving header (49)
  • Pedro sweeps in second (60)
  • Hazard scores third with pen (65)
  • Iwobi pulls one back with half-volley (69)
  • Hazard makes it four (72)
  • Kante starts for Chelsea, Giroud up front
  • Cech in goal against his former club
  • Europa League final in Baku
  • Arsenal qualify for CL with win tonight

Summary

  1. Giroud heads in opener for Chelsea against former club
  2. Pedro doubles Blues’ lead before Hazard scores from spot after foul on Giroud
  3. Substitute Iwobi fires in for Gunners before Hazard strokes home his second
  4. Victory would give Chelsea boss Sarri his first major trophy
 

Eden Hazard scored two goals and made another to help Chelsea thump London rivals Arsenal in Baku and win the Europa League.

Victory gave Blues boss Maurizio Sarri the first trophy of his managerial career and ensured the Gunners will miss out on next season’s Champions League.

With only about 5,000 fans from both sides able to make it to Azerbaijan, there was an eerie atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, which appeared less than half full.

That was the surreal setting for a match played 2,500 miles away from both teams’ home, and the game itself was devoid of action before the break before bursting into life early in the second half.

 

Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock when he met Emerson’s clipped cross with a powerful near-post header that zipped past Petr Cech.

Cech, also facing his old side and playing the final match of his career, could do nothing about Chelsea’s second goal either, with Pedro sweeping home a Hazard cross.

Hazard made it 3-0 from the penalty spot soon after, sending Cech the wrong way after Ainsley Maitland-Niles fouled Giroud.

Substitute Alex Iwobi briefly gave Arsenal hope with a powerful first-time strike moments after coming on.

But Hazard quickly made sure of victory, playing a one-two with Giroud and firing home Chelsea’s fourth goal.

The Belgium forward said after the game it was likely to be his “goodbye” to the club as he continues to be linked to Real Madrid.

Man of the match – Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Eden Hazard
If this is the Chelsea star’s final match after seven years at Stamford Bridge, he certainly signed off in style. Like everyone else, he was quiet in the first half but showed his class after the break to secure the silverware

 

PREVIEW

CHELSEA TEAM NEWS

Team to play Arsenal: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Christensen, Emerson, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Pedro, Hazard, Giroud

Subs: Caballero, Cumming, Alonso, Barkley, Higuain, Zappacosta, Willian ,Cahill, Ampadu, Gallagher, McEachran

ARSENAL TEAM NEWS

Team to play Chelsea: Cech, Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette

Subs: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Jenkinson, El Neny, Guendouzi, Willock, Saka, Amaechi, Iwobi, Nketiah, Welbeck

While victory would be a welcome trophy for the pair, the Gunners know they have to beat the Blues to secure their place in the Champions League next season.

London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal meet in an all-English Europa League final on Wednesday, 2,500 miles from home.

There is speculation that, win or lose in Baku’s Olympic Stadium, it could be Blues boss Maurizio Sarri’s final game in charge.

He refused to discuss reports linking him with Italian side Juventus on the eve of the final, saying: “I have a contract with Chelsea for two years.

“So, first of all I will speak with Chelsea but this is not the moment.”

 

Match stats

Head-to-head

  • Arsenal against Chelsea will be the second all-English UEFA Cup/Europa League final in history, after Tottenham against Wolves in the UEFA Cup final in 1972.
  • This is the 198th meeting in all competitions between Arsenal and Chelsea but only the third in European competition – they met in the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-final, with the Blues progressing 3-2 on aggregate.
  • Arsenal vs Chelsea will be the first fixture to played in the FA Cup final, League Cup final and a major European final.
  • This will be both Arsenal and Chelsea’s sixth major European finals – only Man Utd (7) and Liverpool (14 – including 2019 Champions League) have reached more among English clubs.
  • This final will be third time two teams from the same nation have faced in the Europa League final, after Porto v Braga in 2011 and Atletico Madrid v Athletic Club in 2012.
  • Both Arsenal and Chelsea have won 11 Europa League games this season – only three teams have ever won more major European games in a single season (excluding qualifiers); Real Madrid in 2001-02 (12), Porto in 2010-11 (12) and Atletico Madrid in 2011-12 (13).
  • Azerbaijan will be the 24th different country to host a major European final and the third consecutive year a country will host a major final for the first time – Wales for the 2016-17 Champions League final and Ukraine for the 2017-18 Champions League final.

Arsenal

  • Arsenal have lost four of their five major European finals, with their only victory coming in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup against Parma; they’ve lost each of their last three, losing in the 1995 Cup Winners’ Cup, 2000 UEFA Cup and 2006 Champions League finals.
  • In all European competition, Arsenal have faced opponents from 27 different nations and beaten teams from 26 of those countries, with the only exception being against English clubs.
  • Arsenal manager Unai Emery has won the Europa League more often than any other manager, winning it three times in 2014, 2015 and 2016 with Sevilla.
  • Arsenal’s Unai Emery could become only the fourth manager to win the UEFA/Europa League with two different teams, after Giovanni Trapattoni (Juventus & Inter Milan), Jose Mourinho (Porto & Man Utd) and Rafael Benitez (Valencia & Chelsea).
  • If Arsenal win this match, only Giovanni Trapattoni (5) will have won more major European finals than Unai Emery (4), while only three other managers would have won as many as four with a 100% record in each final – Nereo Rocco, Bob Paisley and Jose Mourinho.
  • Arsenal’s last eight Europa League goals have been scored by either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (4) or Alexandre Lacazette (4).

Chelsea

  • Chelsea have won four of their five major European finals (2x Cup Winners’ Cup/1x Champions League/1x Europa League). Among English teams, only Man Utd (5) and Liverpool (8) have won more major European finals.
  • Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has scored 10 Europa League goals this season, the most by a Blues player in a single European season (excluding qualifiers) and the joint-most by a French player in major European competition in a season – Nestor Combin in the 1963-64 Cup Winners’ Cup and Just Fontaine in the 1958-59 European Cup also scored 10.
  • Chelsea’s Maurizio Sarri is the first Italian to manage in a UEFA Cup/Europa League final since Alberto Malesani in 1999, who won the trophy with Parma that year.
  • The two previous Italians to manage an English club in a major European final have managed Chelsea to victory – Gianluca Vialli in the 1998 Cup Winners’ Cup final and Roberto Di Matteo in the 2012 Champions League final.

 

Related posts