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Chelsea thrashed Arsenal 4-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Baku in the UEFA Europa League final to ensure they finished their season on a high.
The first half was an extremely tough watch for the neutrals with neither side willing to grab the bull by the horns. Both teams sparred and waited for the other to commit a mistake. However, nothing of the sort materialized and the sides went in level at the break.
The 2nd half saw Chelsea find an extra offensive gear and they dented the Gunners in the 49th minute. Emerson controlled a pass on the left channel and whipped in a cross for Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman stooped down and wonderfully guided his header beyond the reach of Petr Cech.
Ten minutes later, Pedro doubled the Blues’ lead when he latched onto an Eden Hazard cut-back. A few minutes later, Ainsley Maitland-Niles conceded a silly penalty to hand Hazard the chance to triple the lead in the 65th minute. The Belgian made no mistake and coolly converted his spot-kick.
Arsenal did pull a goal back in the 69th minute courtesy Alex Iwobi. However, that merely acted as a consolation rather than a catalyst for a comeback.
In the 72nd minute, Hazard applied further gloss to the score-line as he stroked home an inch-perfect lofted pass from Giroud.
Here is a look at the talking points from the game:
#5 Olivier Giroud comes back to haunt Arsenal
Olivier Giroud came into the game having made the net bulge on 10 previous occasions in the Europa League. Thus, the onus was on the Frenchman to carry forward his rich vein of form. Yet, with Arsenal, his former club, lying in wait, many were sceptical if he could actually come up with something of note.
Giroud started the game sluggishly as he was outnumbered on several occasions by the Gunners’ centre backs. However, akin to Chelsea, he grew into the game and came into his own in the 2nd half.
In the 49th minute, the Frenchman superbly escaped the attention of Laurent Koscielny and flung himself towards the ball. The forward’s run dovetailed with Emerson’s cross and he arched his neck perfectly to send the ball fizzing past Cech.
He popped up with an assist later in the game when a sumptuous clipped ball set up Hazard for the final goal. In addition, he was also the player who drew the foul that led to the penalty for Chelsea’s third goal.
To supplement his end product, he worked tirelessly throughout the game and put in a real shift. Moreover, he functioned as the ideal target man and enabled Chelsea to beat the Arsenal press by pinging long balls towards him.
Thus, the Frenchman hugely contributed to the Blues’ success and in the process, hurt his former employers when it mattered most.
In January 2018, Giroud was shipped to Chelsea to fund the arrival of Aubameyang and better times. And incredibly on Wednesday, the ex-Arsenal man ended up consigning the Gunners to another season of Europe’s second tier competition.
Football can really be funny at times!
#4 Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ individual errors compound Arsenal’s defensive woes
Unai Emery decided to adopt a back three for the final against Chelsea and installed his trusted lieutenants, Sead Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles as wing backs. Though the pair gave an acceptable account of themselves in the attacking third, they again failed to keep things tight at the back.
The Englishman was directly at fault for the 2nd and 3rd goals with his inexperience coming to the fore. In the build up to Pedro’s goal, the defender brought the ball out of defence confidently before being robbed in midfield. With him taken out of the game, Chelsea wreaked havoc in the space thus vacated. Kovacic and Hazard marched forward and created a 2v1 situation before the latter fed Pedro.
The 3rd goal, meanwhile, highlighted the deficiencies plaguing ‘Maitland-Niles: the defender’. After getting caught on the wrong side of Giroud, he indulged in an impulsive tackle on the Frenchman. Inevitably, he conceded a penalty and provided the Blues the game on a platter.
Apart from the right-back, Arsenal’s defence looked largely static and they started suffering once Maurizio Sarri’s men began to move the ball quicker. While Sokratis made the odd crucial challenge, the rest of the defence was guilty of ball-watching.
The Gunners have long identified that their Achilles heel remains their defence. Yet, with another Europa League season ahead, they just might not have the required funds to make the defensive reinforcements they crave.
In an all-English Europa League final, there were a total of 17 nationalities being represented in both sides’ playing elevens. Thus, it was ironic that the only Englishman who started the game ended up influencing it the most, albeit negatively.
#3 Eden Hazard dazzles on his potential Chelsea swansong
Ever since the calendar flipped to 2019, the back pages across Europe have been splattered with transfer rumours linking Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. Though Chelsea has relatively remained unfazed so far, an enormous war chest for Los Blancos coupled with the time (or the lack of it) remaining on the Belgian’s contract pointed towards an imminent switch.
Unsurprisingly, the expectations surrounding his performance in the Europa League final hit fever pitch. After all, the game potentially represented the last time he would don a Chelsea jersey. And Hazard did rather well to live up to the billing.
From the outset, the winger looked the Blues’ most potent attacking outlet. The Belgian drifted in-field and caused Arsenal problems by popping up in between the lines. However, despite all the sparkle in the first half, he never threatened the Gunners’ goal.
But, in the second period, Hazard raised his game a notch and ran the show. He dragged defenders into uncomfortable areas and drew them towards the ball. The above tactic allowed the likes of Pedro and Giroud to run into the space created and they eventually made the net bulge. Thus, he highlighted what Chelsea might miss next season onwards.
In all likelihood, the Belgian might be plying his trade in Spain next season. But, with a dazzling display in a European final, Hazard has surely etched his name into Chelsea folklore.
#2 Arsenal flounder on the big stage
Arsenal arrived in Azerbaijan knowing that the Europa League final constituted their only opportunity to get back among Europe’s elite next season. However, they contrived to let that chance slip as they produced an abject display.
The 1st half saw the Gunners create a few half-chances yet they lacked the conviction that has become synonymous with them recently. The likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil failed to impose themselves on the game with the Gabonese and the German in particular, enduring a poor night.
Apart from the aforementioned trio, Koscielny too looked a bit off the pace whereas Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles were frequently wasteful in the attacking third.
In the middle third, Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka started the game brightly but only the latter was able to sustain his level of performance throughout. However, the worrying aspect for Arsenal was that they showcased an apparent stage fright after the break.
On numerous occasions, the Gunners found themselves in promising positions. Yet, they looked uncharacteristically nervous in the opposition box and were the epitome of profligacy. Though Iwobi injected a bit of energy after his introduction, none of the other players showed the drive or imagination to make things happen.
The 2018-19 season was always going to be a transitionary phase for Arsenal. Yet, with a Europa League triumph within their grasp, many believed they could really be back in the Champions League next term.
However, as has been the case with Arsenal this decade, they let nerves get the better of them and they now face the prospect of competing in the Europa League for the third season running.
#1 Maurizio Sarri ends his trophy drought in spectacular fashion
Maurizio Sarri has endured a topsy-turvy 2018-19 campaign. While the Italian’s style was a breath of fresh air in the early part of the season, he was quickly criticized for it being a little too stale during the winter months.
Moreover, the drubbing at Manchester City and Bournemouth led to many clamouring for his head. However, he turned things around a touch after those games.
The home stretch of the Premier League saw each of the teams in the top four race stumbling towards the finish line. At such a juncture, Sarri ensured that his side got the job done efficiently if not extravagantly.
In recent times, the Italian has shown a proclivity to adapt his game according to the opposition and it was on display against Arsenal too.
For the majority of the 1st half, the Gunners found a lot of space down Chelsea’s right flank. However, rather than dropping back into his shell, Sarri kept Pedro high up on that flank to pin Kolasinac down. The Bosnian still ventured forward but that ultimately left space in behind. Thus, in the process, Sarri had not only negated Arsenal’s best attacking avenue, he had also masterminded a potential route to Cech’s goal.
Over the past few days, there have been numerous reports alleging that the Italian might be on his way to Juventus. Though that seems more than just a possibility currently, Sarri has ensured he doesn’t leave a barren trophy cabinet behind him at Stamford Bridge.
And for all the bile he received through the course of the season, he fared rather decently towards the end.
