 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2012–13 UEFA Europa League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 15 May 2013[1] | ||||||
| Venue | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea)[2] | ||||||
| Referee | Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)[3] | ||||||
| Attendance | 46,163[4] | ||||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy 13 °C (55 °F) 54% humidity[5] | ||||||
The 2013 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The match was played at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 15 May 2013,[6] between Portuguese side Benfica and English side Chelsea. Chelsea won 2–1 to secure their first title in this competition.[7]
Chelsea were the first UEFA Champions League title holders to play in the following season's Europa League, after becoming the first Champions League holders to be eliminated in the group stage. With this triumph, they became the only Champions League holders to win the Europa League, as there is no other team could win the Europa League as Champions League titleholders before Champions League league phase teams are not allowed to transfer to the Europa League since 2024. Chelsea also became the fourth club, and first in England, to win all three major UEFA club titles, having won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 and 1998, and still held the Champions League title won for the first time the previous year.[8] Chelsea were also the first team since Manchester United in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final to win a major European final without making any substitutions.[9]
As a result of winning this competition, Chelsea secured a place in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup against the winners of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich.
- ^ "Amsterdam the Europa League aim". UEFA. 22 June 2012.
- ^ Atkin, John (15 May 2013). "Ivanović heads Chelsea to Europa League glory". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Kuipers to referee UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
FT reportwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Tactical lineups" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Wembley, Amsterdam ArenA, Prague get 2013 finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2011. Archived from the original on 18 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic climbs highest to sink Benfica". Guardian UK. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Chelsea join illustrious trio". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 May 2013.
- ^ Oliver Kay (16 May 2013). "Torres far from feeling blue as he delivers epic performance [Champions in numbers (statistics box)]". The Times No. 70886. Retrieved 16 May 2013.