Road to the Europa League Final: Chelsea

Chelsea travel to the capital of Azerbaijan in search of their second Europa League title in an all-English tie against Arsenal; in what could potentially be their third European trophy in seven years.

But before we look ahead to the derby between the London clubs, we will first look back at the Chelsea team’s journey in this year’s competition, as well as their history in Europe, and the familiar faces of their opposition.

The west London side have secured a place in their second cup final of the 2018/19 season after a controversial first season under Maurizio Sarri and the anticipation is growing leading up to this high profile match, especially in the capital.

The group stages went by without any major shocks for the Blues, who won five out of their six games, drawing their last fixture in a tight game against Hungarian opposition MOL Fehérvár FC, more commonly known as Vidi FC. Having already secured their place in the knockout stages, the game carried no real weight, beyond the retention of their first place finish in the group, and it was evident that Sarri had used this game to allow some of the lesser-experienced youngsters to get a European game under their belt, and rightly so.

The round of 16 came and went with little trouble for Sarri’s side, flying high past opponents Dynamo Kiev with a 3-0 victory at home in the first leg, with fan favourite Callum Hudson Odoi scoring his third consecutive goal at home in the Europa League and Willian Borges de Silva replicating his free-kick from last season on his 100th European appearance. The second leg brought a 5-0 thumping in the Ukrainian capital; Olivier Giroud’s hattrick and another Hudson-Odoi masterclass ensuring the club romped to victory and into the next round.

The Chelsea squad found themselves in the Czech capital of Prague for the first leg of the quarterfinals against the local side Slavia Praha. It was a tight game with plenty of chances where both keepers were put to the test often, but Marcos Alonso managed to get onto the end of a brilliantly weighted Willian cross to give the Chelsea side a vital away goal to take back to West London. The second leg was a rollercoaster experience for both sides. Though they looked somewhat uncomfortable, the Premier league team fought their way to a 4-3 win at Stamford Bridge to solidify their place in the semi-finals.

Only German side Eintracht stood between Chelsea and a place in the Europa League final. The first of the two games was indeed in Germany. Eintracht started the game on the front foot, with Danny da Costa’s teasing cross cut out by Kepa Arrizabalaga. They continued to probe the Chelsea defence until another dangerous ball in was finally met by the head of Luka Jovic, who intelligently guided the ball into the far corner and out of the Chelsea keeper’s reach. The tie was saved by a cracking finish from Pedro on the stroke of half-time to level the scoring. The second half was twice as eventful as the first but both teams failed to score, meaning that there was all to play for in the second leg in London.

The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge was anticipatory for the entertaining evening to come. After many wayward attempts, another young starling in the form of Ruben Loftus-Cheek came forward to break the deadlock with a neat right foot finish after a ball in behind played by none other than golden boy Eden Hazard. The score stayed at 1-0 for a further 20 minutes before Chelsea’s centre-back pairing were both caught unawares by a splitting pass fizzed between the two of them, leaving Jovic again with a lot to do. He calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to complete the fine passage of play that preceded the goal.

With the game tied through the entire 90 minutes, and extra time not being enough to break the deadlock either, every English team’s nightmare when playing a German side had now come to fruition; penalties. After a few firm finishes and excellent saves by Kepa, Chelsea star Hazard stepped up to take the final penalty, and, characteristically, the Belgian coolly slotted it home to send his club through.

Although their journey to final has undoubtedly not been their most difficult European journey, Chelsea’s opposition in Azerbaijan are far from unfamiliar and likely to put up a great battle. Chelsea are unbeaten against Arsenal in all European competitions, with their last meeting being in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League in 2003/04, during Arsenal’s notable ‘Invincibles’ season.

The Blue’s record against the North London side has been inconsistent at best in recent years, with each time winning one game against each other in the Premier League this season. The teams seem evenly matched which means there is no room for mistakes this Wednesday.

A glance back at Chelsea’s recent history in Europe puts them in an ideal position for this final. The club won the trophy in the 2012/13 season, the year after their fairytale Champions League win against Bayern Munich. They are the current record holders for the longest unbeaten run in Europa League history, going 17 games straight without a loss. Can they extend this to 18 by triumphing over Arsenal in Baku?

To add to their turmoil, Chelsea are without defensive midfield rock N’golo Kante, who is nursing a knee injury. Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi who have both played exceptionally well in this competition thus far this season are both absent through injury. German defender Antonio Rudiger is also recovering from a knee injury and will join the others in watching from the sidelines.

Following on from their poor return after the Christmas break to the Premier League, the club were in doubt to even be in their current position. After securing the third place spot and ensuring their participation in the Champions League next season against all odds, Chelsea look to deny their London rivals the opportunity to join them. With Hazard at the helm in what looks to be his last game for the club, it all boils down to Baku this Wednesday evening. Not a game to be missed.

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