'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea romped to a 4-1 victory over fellow Premier League team Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League final last night, held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Goals from Olivier Giroud and Pedro Rodriguez and a brace from Eden Hazard saw manager Sarri lift his first major trophy after over two decades in management. N'Golo Kante was risked in midfield by Sarri, despite the Frenchman having a knee problem, as the Blues started with a 4-3-3 system with Pedro preferred to Willian in the right wing and Mateo Kovacic starting ahead of Ross Barkley in midfield.
Arsenal went with a 3-5-2 system, retaining the same side which decimated Valencia 4-2 in the semi-final second leg, with Mesut Ozil starting at the heart of midfield ahead of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was ruled out due to political tension between his native Armenia and the host country Azerbaijan. Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac occupied the wing-back positions, while Petr Cech started in goal ahead of Bernd Leno in his last outing.
A cagey first half saw few clear cut chances for each side as both teams battled for midfield dominance. The much needed first goal came in the 49th minute, with former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud expertly placing a header past Cech after latching onto a superb cross from Emerson Palmieri. A neat interplay between Kovacic and Hazard released the Belgian down the left flank in the 59th minute; Hazard experty cut the ball back into the path of an onrushing Pedro, who made no mistake with a low finish past Cech to double Chelsea's lead.
Maitland-Niles showed his inexperience in the 65th minute as he clumsily bundled over Giroud to concede a penalty, which was expertly dispatched by Eden Hazard. Alex Iwobi came off the bench to offer some hope for the Gunners by scoring a screamer in the 69th minute. But Chelsea were not to be denied and the Blues put the game to bed in the 72nd minute, with star man Hazard finishing off a neat one-two with Giroud. Chelsea won the game 4-1 and in this article, we look at three learnings we learnt from the Europa League final.
#3 Chelsea are overdependent on Hazard and need to develop other creative outlets
Two goals and an assist - that was the contribution of the Chelsea talisman and the Premier League Playmaker of the Season, Hazard, in the UEFA Europa League final, clearly showed how vital he has been for the Blues. With Hazard's move to Real Madrid almost done and Chelsea hindered by a transfer ban, the Blues must look to develop a system that compensates for his departure.
Having contributed 21 goals and 17 assists for Chelsea across all competitions this season, Hazard's sensational performances were still not good enough for the Blues to mount a title challenge in the Premier League, with Liverpool and Manchester City dominating with great team performances. Chelsea have to rethink a system to bring out positive results after Hazard's departure. A combination of one or two among Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek must be figured into this revamped system if Chelsea are to mount a title challenge in the increasingly competitive Premier League next season. Christian Pulisic could also turn out to be a vital player for the Blues.
#2 Arsenal sorely missed Mkhitaryan and Ramsey
Arsenal sorely missed their playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was ruled out due to political considerations and midfield dynamo Aaron Ramsey, who had to sit out due to an injury. Ramsey was one of the key reasons why the Gunners triumphed 2-0 against the Blues in the Premier League in January, effectively nullifying Chelsea's midfield fulcrum Jorginho with an energetic display. With Ramsey set for a move to Italian champions Juventus, Unai Emery must look to find an able replacement.
With six goals and seven assists across all competitions, Armenian international Mkhitaryan played an effective role in Emery's attack this season, and his directness and pace were sorely missed in Baku, in direct contrast to Mesut Ozil's lazy and indisciplined performance. The 30-year-old attacker was ruled out for the final due to safety considerations because of the political tensions between host country Azerbaijan and Mkhitaryan's home nation, Armeina.
#1 Arsenal don't have quality midfielders for a 3-5-2 system
Even though Emery retained the same XI that hammered Valencia 4-2 in the semi-final second, the superior opposition they faced in the final clearly brought out the chinks in their armour. In all successful 3-5-2 systems like Antonio Conte's famous title-winning Chelsea of 2016-17, the midfield is run by two energetic box-to-box midfielders, with superb passing range (N'golo Kante and Nemanja Matic for Chelsea in 2016-17), supported by a hard-working playmaker, who comes back to defend when the wing-backs are caught up in forward positions (like Cesc Fabregas for the 2016-17 Chelsea outfit).
For Arsenal, they simply dont have the personnel in midfield to run a 3-5-2 system successfully against a quality opposition. Ozil is not known for his work rate and last night, it came to the fore as Chelsea overran Arsenal in midfield, with wing-backs Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles often stranded in forward positions. Mkhitaryan would probably have done a better job than Ozil. This, combined with the limited passing range of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torrerira meant that Emery couldnt leverage the normal advantages of a sound 3-5-2 formation. In direct contrast, Chelsea's metronomic passmasters Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho controlled the rhythm of the game right from the onset and refused to let go of their chokehold on the midfield till the final whistle
