Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal - 5 talking points | Europa League 2018/2019 final
The 2019 final of the Europa League was an all London affair as Arsenal and Chelsea battled it out in Baku, Azerbaijan, with The Blues running out 4-1 winners, courtesy goals from Olivier Giroud, Pedro, and an Eden Hazard brace.
Despite complaints about security issues and travel costs, the match served up real excitement, as five goals were scored in the second half, with Arsenal seeing their hopes for a spot in next season's Champions League group stage disappear.
The Gunners were aiming to win the trophy for the first time, with coach Unai Emery looking to become the first manager in history to win European club football's second-tier competition four times following his three consecutive triumphs with Sevilla, while Chelsea were hoping to win it for the second time, with Sarri playing to win his first major honor as a manager.
As it happened, it was the Italian that triumphed, with his side taking the Gunners to the cleaners, booking their place as one of the seeded teams in next season's Champions League as well as the right to contest the 2019 Super Cup where they would face one of either Tottenham or Liverpool.
The trophy win was a good end to a season which was plagued by inconsistencies. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at five talking points from the high scoring fixture.
#5 Eden Hazard sends a timely reminder of what Chelsea would be missing
Eden Hazard was signed by Chelsea from Lille in the summer of 2012 and in the last seven years, he has played his part in bringing numerous trophies to Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian international has been the undeniable talisman for the club for the last five seasons and rightly so, as he is one of the best players in the world.
In the just concluded season, Hazard had his most productive campaign till date, scoring 16 goals and assisting a further 15 to win the Premier League playmaker award and his importance to the club is exemplified by the fact that his total of 31 goals involvement is almost 50% of the 63 goals that Chelsea scored during the season.
The 28-year-old is entering the final of his contract with Chelsea and it has emerged that Real Madrid are seriously close to signing him, which would mean that this was his last appearance in a blue shirt.
What a way to sign out, as despite starting the game slowly, Hazard sprung to life in the second half, scoring a brace for the side while also grabbing an assist for Pedro's goal to help Chelsea to the trophy.
This came as a reminder of what he can offer and if the proposed move to Real Madrid goes through as expected, a major dilemma for Chelsea would be how to replace their number 10.