Chelsea turned on the style to thrash Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final on Wednesday night in what is expected to be Eden Hazard’s final appearance for the club.
Hazard, 28, was yet again at his majestic best as he converted from the penalty spot and finished off a slick attacking move to net the Blues’ third and fourth goals of the evening respectively.
After a drab first half showing from both sides, Chelsea produced a rampant second-half display to blow away Unai Emery’s side.
Former Gunner Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock after converting Emerson’s inviting cross from the left with a brilliant header.
One soon became two on the hour mark as Hazard slipped a sumptuous ball through to Pedro, who in turn whipped the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
And the game was as good as over five minutes later, as Hazard stepped up to send Petr Cech the wrong way from the penalty spot after Ainsley Maitland-Niles was penalised for clumsily bundling over Giroud.
Substitute Alex Iwobi’s explosive effort proved to be a brief lifeline for the Gunners, as the imperious Hazard capped off a slick passing move, linking up brilliantly with Giroud before rolling the ball past a helpless Cech to end the match as a contest three minutes later.
It caps off an impressive first season for Sarri, with the Blues finishing third in the Premier League – while they were also Carabao Cup finalists.
It has been another year of huge disappointment for Arsenal though, with Unai Emery’s first season in English football not going to plan – with the north London outfit set for a third season without Champions League football next term.