Sporting Life
Chelsea beat Arsenal to win the 2018/19 Europa League
Chelsea beat Arsenal to win the 2018/19 Europa League

Watch: Eden Hazard scores twice as Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 to win Europa League title

By Sporting Life
Football
Wed May 29, 2019 · 5y ago

Eden Hazard bid a glorious farewell to Chelsea by netting a brace as Maurizio Sarri's side roared past Arsenal to seal Europa League success in Azerbaijan.

Unai Emery was looking to continue his love affair with this competition and end the Gunners' 25-year wait for continental success at the end of his maiden campaign in the dugout.

But Arsenal collapsed as a tepid first half made way for a memorable second period at the sparsely-filled Baku Olympic Stadium, where Chelsea manager Sarri masterminded a 4-1 win that brought his first major trophy.

Olivier Giroud impressively opened the scoring against his former club - his 11th goal in this season's Europa League - but this was Hazard's night.

It appears a case of when rather than if he swaps Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid and the Belgian magician was never likely to go quietly.

Hazard provided the assist for Pedro and soon got on the scoresheet himself, coolly scoring from the spot before putting the game to bed by sweeping home after a stunning Alex Iwobi strike briefly gave Arsenal hope.

Chelsea rained on the Gunners' planned parade in some style as owner Roman Abramovich got to enjoy a successful end to a topsy-turvy season and the Hazard - and perhaps also Sarri - era.

The only disappointment for the west Londoners was that the pyrotechnics that followed captain Cesar Azpilicueta lifting the trophy were not complemented by more fans enjoying it.

The victory was Chelsea's and Hazard got to say goodbye in style.

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Opta facts

Chelsea players celebrate Pedro's goal in the Europa League final
  • Chelsea registered their fifth major UEFA European competition final victory, with only Liverpool winning more among English clubs (eight).
  • Arsenal conceded four goals in a European match for the first time since a 1-5 loss to Bayern Munich in March 2017 and were the first team to do so in a UEFA Cup/Europa League final since Middlesbrough lost 4-0 to Sevilla in the 2006 UEFA Cup final.
  • Chelsea became the first team to win a major European title without losing a game during the campaign (W12 D3 L0) since Manchester United won the Champions League in 2007-08 without losing a game.
  • Arsenal have now lost five of their six major UEFA European finals, including each of their last four in a row (1995 Cup Winners’ Cup, 2000 UEFA Cup, 2006 Champions League, 2019 Europa League).
  • Chelsea won 12 Europa League matches during 2018-19 – only one team has ever won more matches in major UEFA European competition in a single season (Atletico Madrid in 2011-12, 13 wins).
  • Olivier Giroud scored his 11th goal in the Europa League for Chelsea this season, becoming the first player to score 11 goals in major European competition for an English club since Alan Shearer scored 11 in 2004-05 for Newcastle United.
  • Chelsea’s Pedro became the fifth player to score in a European Cup/Champions League and UEFA Cup/Europa League final, after Allan Simonsen, Dmitri Alenichev, Hernan Crespo and Steven Gerrard.
  • Olivier Giroud’s 11 goals for Chelsea in major European competition is a record by a French player in a single European season, breaking the record held by Nestor Combin in 1963-64 (Cup Winners’ Cup) and Just Fontaine in 1958-59 (European Cup).
  • In his final match, Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech conceded four goals in a match for only the third time in major European competition, only conceding more in one game (five against Bayern Munich in November 2015).
  • Chelsea’s starting XI featured no Englishmen, the first time a team had started a major European final without a player from their home nation in their starting line-up since Inter Milan against Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions League final.
  • Since 2009-10, the only player to score more Europa League goals in a single season than Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud this season (11) is Radamel Falcao, who has done so twice – 12 in 2011-12 for Atletico Madrid and 17 in 2010-11 for Porto.
  • Eden Hazard registered a brace for Chelsea, becoming the first player to do so in the final of a major UEFA competition for an English club since Mark Hughes for Manchester United against Barcelona in the 1991 Cup Winners’ Cup.

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