Chelsea annihilated Arsenal in the second half of the Europa League finals played tonight. The Blues have defeated the local rivals with 4-1 and won their second Europa League title. After 0-0 in the first half, the second one brought five goals and a very interesting game.
The Blues came out as winners, and to be perfectly straight, Maurizio Sarri’s team fully deserved that. Eden Hazard and Olivier Giroud set the pace on the court and played a magnificent match at the Olympic stadium in Baku.
For the fantastic Belgian midfielder, this is the last game as Blues’ player, because he probably leaves to Real at the end of the season. Hazard himself stated that after the match, saying that he already chose his future.
“I have made my decision already and now I’m waiting on both clubs,” said Hazard. “I think it is a goodbye, but in football you never know.”
Regarding the contest, he stated that the importance of the match slowed down both sides in the opening half and that Giroud’s goal changed everything.
“I think both teams were playing with a bit of stress in the first half because it was a final, but when Olivier scored, it was the beginning of a great night.”
Is this the end for Eden Hazard at Chelsea?
"I think so"#UELfinal #beINUEL 📺 HD11 pic.twitter.com/VakB1EuPQR
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) May 29, 2019
Three minutes after the start of the second half, Chelsea struck through former Arsenal attacker. Giroud used a perfect cross from Emerson and sent a nice header past Cech who really couldn’t do anything. The Gunners were shocked, while Blues boosted their morale.
Not long after that, Chelsea doubled its lead. This time it was Pedro. The Spanish winger used Hazards cross towards the middle of the box, and sent an accurate shot which ended behind Cech’s back.
Hazard himself scored the third goal, using a penalty kick after one of Arsenal’s defenders bumped into Giroud in the box. He would later net once more, ending his stint in London in the best possible way.
In the meantime, Alex Iwobi decreased the gap of his team to 3-1, but that was just briefly before Chelsea retained a three-goal advantage.
All in all, the Blues were much better, and this trophy rightfully finished in their hands. Unai Emery, Arsenal’s manager admitted that following the final whistle.
“We tried, we worked, but right now Chelsea are better than us – congratulations to them.”
Sarri’s team had 8 shots on goal, while Arsenal had just 2, and that could tell you that the Blues played directly and with more determination.
Watch the Game Highlights from Chelsea vs. Arsenal, 05/29/2019 pic.twitter.com/0JgRRqBt3F
— GOAL Asia (@GOALasia) May 29, 2019
Arsenal will again stay outside the Champions League. This is the ultimate setback for the Gunners whose only goal this season was to regain their place in the most significant soccer competition in Europe. Unfortunately, they will have to wait at least for one more year. What additionally frustrates their fans is the fact that they controlled everything in the domestic Champions League race, and eventually failed to finish among top 4 places.
On the other side, this is a huge success for Maurizio Sarri who is under massive pressure in Chelsea. The Italian’s job position wasn’t safe according to media in England, and there were a lot of speculations in recent days about his future.
This victory could save his position at Stamford Bridge, or in the worst case scenario increase his value if on the market if he gets fired anyway.
Also, the entire season for Chelsea is saved. After getting eliminated in the domestic cups, and finishing way behind City and Liverpool in the Premiership, this was the only competition where they could win some silverware.
After 2013 this is the second Europa League trophy for Chelsea who now has 6 European titles in seven finals played. The only one lost was against United in the Champions League finals back in Moscow in 2008.
Besides these two trophies, the Blues have a Champions League, two Cup Winners’ Cups, and a Super Cup.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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