By Arsenal, Chelsea cruise into Europa League final to complete 2019 English domination
Like Liverpool and Tottenham, London rivals, Chelsea and Arsenal last night made it to the finals of the Europa League completing a seasonal dominance of English football on the European continent.
It was a nostalgic moment a day earlier when Spurs joined Liverpool in the final of the champions league to the excitement of many English football fans. The exciting mode was however completed with the emergence of Chelsea and Arsenal in the finals of the lower continental league.
It was an absolutely graceful night for Arsenal as they cruised they way through Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium despite massive opposition from home fans. A hat-trick by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with an addition by Alexandre Lacazette sealed the hopes of Valencia despite Kevin Gameiro’s brace. Arsenal easily won 7-3 on aggregate as the duo of Lacazette and Aubameyang had earlier delivered a similar fate the Spaniards a week earlier defeating them 3-1 at the Emirates stadium.
For Maurizio Sarri’s side however, it wasn’t a smooth ride as the Blues’ fate was decided by a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Although Eden Hazard saved the day with his superb penalty which earned Chelsea a slot at the finals in Baku, the hero of the night was Kepa Arrizabalaga who saved two penalties which could have seen a distraught Eintracht Frankfurt facing Arsenal instead of Chelsea.
With Europe now looking for an All-English final in the UEFA Champions league and the UEFA Europa leagues, many are expecting this to be a boost for English football and ofcourse it’s players who are usually ranked behind their Spanish counterparts.
