UEFA Europa League Final
Result: Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal
Date: 29 May 2019
Venue: Baki Olimpiya Stadionu
Chelsea secured their second UEFA Europa League title after thrashing London rivals Arsenal in the final at the Baku Olympic Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Gunners manager Unai Emery opted to field veteran shot-stopper Petr Cech ahead of Bernd Leno, while N'Golo Kante overcame his injury to start for the Blues.
Chances were few and far between in the early stages of the encounter as both sides went for the cautious approach from the onset.
It was the Blues who carved out of the best chance of the half as Eden Hazard did well to slip Emerson through on goal, but the full-back was denied by Cech on 33 minutes.
Cech was called upon again five minutes before the halftime break, as he produced a fine low save to deny Olivier Giroud in the box.
The Blues came out firing in the second half and managed to break the deadlock three minutes after the restart when Giroud nodded home Emerson's cross for his 11th goal of the tournament.
Ten minutes later, Maurizio Sarri's troops bagged as Hazard turned provider to pick out Pedro, who sent a fine first-time finish past Cech.
It got worse for the Gunners on 64 minutes when Chelsea were awarded a penalty for Ainsley Maitland-Niles' challenge Giroud, which allowed Hazard to step up and convert his 20th goal across all competitions.
Arsenal gave themselves some hope when substitute Alex Iwobi found the back of the net with a superb volley from the edge of the box four minutes later.
However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed with 20 minutes as Hazard combined with Giroud before nodding past Cech from close range.
The Gunners did see a bit more of the ball in the latter stages of the half, but Chelsea were home and dry by then and held on for the 4-1 win to clinch their second Europa League title.
