Highlights: Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal
Chelsea thrashed English Premier League and London rivals Arsenal 4-1 in the UEFA Europa League final at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday night.
After a goalless first half, former Gunner Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for Maurizio Sarri’s side four minutes after the break with a powerful near-post header past Petr Cech.
Cech, facing his old side, could do nothing about Pedro sweeping home Eden Hazard’s cross to make it 2-0 on the hour. Some clumsy defending from Ainsley Maitland-Niles gifted the Blues a penalty from which Hazard converted to make it 3-0 after 65 minutes.
Arsenal substitute Alex Iwobi gave the scoreline some respect when he reduced the deficit four minutes later, but any dreams from the North London fans were ended on 72 minutes when Eden Hazard made it 4-1.
Victory saw Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri lift the first trophy of his managerial career and means rivals Arsenal miss out on next season’s Champions League.
There were less than 6,000 fans from both sides combined that made for a quiet atmosphere in Baku, with the stadium less than half full. The setting for the final was played 2,500 miles away from both teams’ home.
Watch the Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal 2018-19 UEFA Europa League final highlights here:
