LONDON • Arsenal and Chelsea have qualified for the Europa League final, completing a historic week with European football's two major finals now featuring Premier League teams.
The London clubs will face one another in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 29, while Liverpool will play Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid on June 1.
The Gunners beat Valencia 4-2 on Thursday night to win their semi-final 7-3 on aggregate.
Chelsea sealed their place by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties, with Kepa Arrizabalaga making two saves, after the match finished 1-1 after extra time, with the aggregate at 2-2.
It will be the first time in European football history that one country has monopolised the two finals and means that both trophies will head to England. Many will argue that the billions flowing into the EPL are now having a direct effect on those competitions.
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, who has now steered his side to two major finals and a top-four place in his debut season, pointed to the English clean sweep as evidence of the league's excellence.
The Italian, whose Blues side opened the scoring through Ruben Loftus-Cheek before Luka Jovic equalised, said: "If you think that, to get to the final of the League Cup, we had to play against Liverpool, against Tottenham - the finalists of the Champions League.
"Then we played against, in my opinion, the best team in Europe in the final, Manchester City, you can understand the level here is very high. At this moment, the Premier League is the best in Europe and, as a consequence, in the world.
"But it's not easy for an English team to arrive in the last month in a very good condition, physically, because here, we play more than in the other countries."
Eden Hazard, in what could be his final home game, drilled the winning spot kick to spark wild scenes at Stamford Bridge.
While the Belgium forward, who is entering the final year of his contract in the summer and has been linked with a blockbuster move to Real Madrid, admitted his future was undecided, his only focus was now to "go to Baku with quality to win the game".
He said: "Against Arsenal, we've struggled a bit the last two or three years. I am only thinking to win something for this club. If it's my last game, I will try to do everything. If it's not, we'll see. In my mind, I don't know yet."
Arsenal ended their Mestalla jinx for their first win on Valencia's home ground to reach their first European final since 2006.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang revealed his teammates had learnt from last term's semi-final exit to Atletico Madrid. The Gabon international, who scored his first hat-trick for the club, said: "It means a lot. This year, we didn't make the same mistakes."
Lifting the trophy is Arsenal's only realistic chance of ending their two-year Champions League exile. They need to beat Burnley away tomorrow, and also conjure up an unlikely eight-goal swing, while Spurs also have to lose at home to Everton, for them to finish in the top four.
REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
Blues manager Maurizio Sarri hails Higuain-Hazard partnership
N'Golo Kante was the hero as he scored the only goal to help Chelsea beat Crystal Palace, and increase the gap between themselves and fifth-placed Arsenal. Kante scored the only goal of the game in the 51st minute when he broke forward from midfield to convert David Luiz's throughball.
Kante strikes as Chelsea beat Palace - webverzeichnis24.net
Small Cities Feel the Clock Ticking on Opportunity Zones which has an $11 million revolving loan fund to help revitalize "core urban" areas. Oscar is Next
TIN - Ticking - YouTube
Liverpool's great hope is that Manchester City are not only playing Brighton - but themselves With the Premier League title on the line at the Amex on Sunday, is there room for another great
Fantasy Football: Manchester City and Liverpool - goal.com
Bournemouth introduced top scorer Callum Wilson from the bench but his best chance was deflected for a corner and the victory, which leaves Wolves seventh in the table, was sealed by Cavaleiro with a cool finish in injury time. The game was the first ever top-flight clash between the clubs.
Alleged THUG gets DEATH threats after Aston Villa captain struck in Midlands derby THE football fan who allegedly threw a punch at Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish in a Midlands derby has
Grealish Attacked by Fan, Scores Winner | Birmingham City
SINGAPORE - Singaporean Akbar Nawas has been named the I-League's best coach after leading Chennai City to their first title earlier this month. The Indian team swept seven out of 10 categories at the I-League awards and trophy presentation ceremony at the Taj Corramandel in Chennai on Wednesday (March 20).
Singaporean coach Akbar Nawas' Chennai City FC crowned new I
The tape says Crime Scene but what should say is sleepless nights and cold sweats. The true face of this city can always be found behind the yellow tape. stop writing shitty paragraph stories that sound like an illiterate grader wrote "Good news or bad news?" "Shoot" "Good news, it fits the other murders. Bad news, it's another murder.
Everton led their local rivals by 12 points after victory at Anfield in late February, but Liverpool went on a storming run to win 11 and draw one of their last 12 games to claim the title by two
Premier League title race: 'Liverpool need to take their
Football: Solskjaer praises buccaneering Man United players after stylish win Manchester United interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrates after the match with Jesse Lingard. PHOTO: REUTERS
Solskjaer Praises Buccaneering Man United Players After
A goal by Michail Antonio ensured West Ham United became the first visiting team to win at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium as Mauricio Pochettino's third-placed side missed the chance to
Spurs beaten for first time in new stadium; Saints stay up
Son contemplated Tottenham exit until discussion with Pochettino football is difficult but always it's about time. You can learn a lot from these difficult moments," Pochettino said. "The
Son contemplated Tottenham exit until discussion with
Translate Kill. See 14 authoritative translations of Kill in Spanish with example sentences, conjugations and audio pronunciations.
Newcastle United to rival Barcelona for the signing of
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar