Chelsea cruised to victory in the UEFA Europa League final in Baku. The London derby finale had a slow start to the game but it took a turn for the worse for the north London club as the Blues came out all guns blazing in the second half.
An early goal at the start of the second half from Olivier Giroud set the tone for Chelsea’s first silverware of the season. Another two goals in quick succession from Pedro and Eden Hazard meant the game was set for Maurizio Sarri and co.
There was some fight back from the Gunners as they got one back thanks to Alex Iwobi but the game was put to bed by none other than Hazard who scored his second to crush their rivals’ Champions League hopes for next season.
Let’s take a look at the Chelsea players rated in their win over London rivals Arsenal.
Kepa Arrizabalaga(6/10): The Spanish goalkeeper had a subpar 90 minutes and was lucky on the night. His challenge on Alexandre Lacazette in the 18th minute could have gone either way. Before that, he nervously had a swing at a cross from Ainsley Maitland-Niles rather than holding it which again didn’t cause any harm. For Iwobi’s goal, he had no chance and was left helpless.
Cesar Azpilicueta(8/10): Azpilicueta was the best among the four-man defence for the Blues. He made two blocks, one of which came at a very significant stage in the 16th minute to deny Sokratis. The Spaniard had 2 clearances and 4 interceptions and was superb throughout the night.
Andreas Christensen(7/10): The Danish International didn’t have much to do on the night. He kept things tight at the start of the game when Arsenal were more dominant and had 1 clearance and 1 interception.
David Luiz(7/10): The Brazilian had a decent game but struggled a bit against Maitland-Niles and Aubameyang. Luiz had 3 clearances, 2 blocked shots and 2 interceptions on the night and played a vital role in the victory.
Emerson Palmieri(7.5/10): The Italian had a poor start but grew into the game. It was his inch-perfect pass to Giroud that broke the deadlock for Chelsea.
N’Golo Kante(7/10): Even a 50% Kante was enough for Arsenal. The Frenchman ran his socks off all over the pitch and was more than decent in other areas like interception, crossing the ball etc.
Jorginho(7.5/10): The Italian produced the goods and once again silenced his critics. He registered an 88.7% pass accuracy and won 10 out of 15 duels on the pitch.
Mateo Kovacic(6.5/10): The Croatian had a peculiar game. He was neat in possession but didn’t create much. The 25-year-old had 3 successful dribbles and only won 6 of his 12 duels.
Pedro(8.5/10): Pedro had another great final and added another trophy to his long list of accolades. He scored the second goal for the Blues at a time where Arsenal started to look dangerous.
Eden Hazard(9.5/10): The Belgian was the MOTM in his last ever game for Chelsea. Hazard scored a brace and assisted one to lead the Blues to their second Europa League title. On top of that, he did it in a spectacular fashion to wave goodbye to his Chelsea career with a typical performance.
Olivier Giroud(8/10): The French International had a subpar first half where he missed two chances to put Chelsea in front but took his third with great finesse as he opened the scoring in the initial stages of the second half. He also got an assist for Hazard’s goal when he was fouled in the box and ended the game with two goal contributions.
SUBSTITUTES
Willian(6/10): The Brazilian replaced Pedro in between two goals in the game, one from each side. Willian came on in the 71st minute and before he could impact the game, Hazard scored in the 72nd minute to restore the three-goal cushion for the Blues.
Ross Barkley(6/10): Barkley was the second substitution from Sarri and by the time he came on, the game was pretty much done and dusted.
Davide Zappacosta(NA): The Italian came on to replace Hazard when there was just a single minute left to play and made one clearance in his time on the pitch.
Stat Courtesy: Sofascore