UEFA Europa League Match Report: Chelsea 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (4-3 penalties)
Chelsea overcame Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night to set up an all-English final showdown with London rivals Arsenal at Baku on the 29th of June.
With the first leg in Germany having finished 1-1 last week, Chelsea came into the second leg at home knowing that a 0-0 draw would be enough to guarantee themselves a place in the finals, while Frankfurt had to get that away goal if they were to have any chance of making it through to the finals.
There was little to choose between the two teams after an end-to-end nail-biting thriller at Stamford Bridge and only a penalty shootout could have separated them, with the scores tied at 1-1 after 120 minutes.
Chelsea started off as the brighter of the two teams and the fans would have been pleased to see Eden Hazard in the starting eleven. The Blues created some good chances early in the game and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could have had a penalty when he was brought down inside the box, as he attempted to get a final touch on Olivier Giroud’s flick.
Frankfurt had a golden opportunity to score when Danny da Costa found himself inside the box but Kepa pulled off a fabulous save to keep out his powerful right-footed effort. Luka Jovic and Ante Rebic gave the Blues something to think about at times but that just wasn’t going to be enough to break the deadlock.
It was Maurizio Sarri’s side who managed to break the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. Ruben Loftus-Cheek showed some fantastic movement off the ball to lose his marker inside the box and opened his body up to beat Kevin Trapp with an inch-perfect far post finish, Eden Hazard claiming the assist.
Leading 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate, Chelsea were strong favourites to win the tie and cruise to the final. Luka Jovic, however, had other ideas, and the Serb combined brilliantly with Mijat Gacinovic, leaving David Luiz flat-footed and beating Kepa with a clinical finish to draw level on aggregate.
Gacinovic was once again in the thick of things and the Serb drew another save from Kepa with a powerful volley from the edge of the box just before the hour-mark. Davide Zappacosta called Trapp into action with a good strike towards the end of regulation time but nothing could separate the two sides.
However, it was Frankfurt, who had the better chances in the extra-time period. Sebastien Haller, who came on as a substitute for Ante Rebic, forced David Luiz and Zappacosta to make goal-line clearances on two occasions and a goal at that point of time could have proved fatal to Chelsea’s hopes.
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Chelsea blinked first in the penalty-shootout as Azpilicueta’s well-placed strike was kept out by a brilliant diving save from Trapp. It was Kepa, however, who proved his worth later in the shootout by keeping out strikes from Martin Hinteregger and Goncalo Paciencia and Eden Hazard slotted it home with authority to send the Blues through to the finals.
Let us see how some of the jubilant Chelsea fans reacted to the penalty-shootout victory
Kepa Arrizabalaga!
First of his kind!
Protector of Chelsea goalpost!
Penalty king.
Knight of the top4 race!
Most expensive goalkeeper!
The one true Chelsea Manager!
We hail thee!
Kepa my Keepa💙 #CHEFRA #CFC #UEL pic.twitter.com/mS1IjMHoMt
— Danky_of_Port_Harcourt🛳 (@i_am_Danky) May 9, 2019
The greatest goal line clearance I’ve ever seen. David Luiz with an incredible piece of defending #CHEFRA #CFC pic.twitter.com/CxHwboELeW
— Gully Burrows (@gully_burrows) May 9, 2019
Chelsea almost drowned were it not for David Luiz to save them #CHEFRA pic.twitter.com/RuoWC9edpq
— Pye Waw (@pyewaw) May 9, 2019
Only one football club can have this number Likes, comments and share in just a minute.. Chelsea FC 😍… WE MADE IT TO THE FINAL 💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃 #CHEFRA pic.twitter.com/osCdVeF1hT
— Radiant✨ (@Munawwarah__) May 9, 2019
Kepa saves a second time! #EuropaLeague #CHEFRA Chelsea in the final Europa League! Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/5X33yCVeNi
— Tomasz Nowakowski (@tom_nowakowski) May 9, 2019
David Luiz is the reason Chelsea are going to Baku. #CHEFRApic.twitter.com/n6Wq62tq1j
— Owuraku Ampofo (@owuraku_ampofo) May 9, 2019
KEPA Arrizabalaga! Remember the name #mykepa #uel #CHEFRA 🔥🔥🔥 what a save pic.twitter.com/jhMSJjA5jK
— Ronakk Patel (@PatelRon9) May 9, 2019
David #Luiz with yet another big mistake. Never fails to surprise me. Rubbish defender. #CFC #UEL #CHEFRA #Chelsea
— Sharan Chablani (@MyNameIsSharan) May 9, 2019
📊 | Major finals reached since 2000:#Chelsea – 19
Manchester United – 16
Liverpool – 16
Arsenal – 13
Manchester City – 6
Tottenham Hotspur – 5
Blue is the colour. pic.twitter.com/OnC0KtpVVu#CFC #UEL #CHEFRA #PL— Sharan Chablani (@MyNameIsSharan) May 9, 2019
