2019 UEFA Europa League final

2019 UEFA Europa League Final
Match programme cover
Event2018–19 UEFA Europa League
Chelsea Arsenal
England England
4 1
Date29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)
VenueOlympic Stadium, Baku
Man of the MatchEden Hazard (Chelsea)[1]
RefereeGianluca Rocchi (Italy)[2]
Attendance51,370[3]
WeatherClear night
21 °C (70 °F)
74% humidity[4]
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The 2019 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, the 48th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 10th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. It was played at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 29 May 2019.[5] The match was contested between English sides Chelsea and Arsenal, who had beaten Eintracht Frankfurt and Valencia, respectively, in the semi-finals to set up a London derby in the final. It was the tenth tournament final to feature two teams from the same association, the second all-English final, and the first between teams from the same city.

Chelsea won the final 4–1 for their second UEFA Europa League title. As winners, they earned the right to play against Liverpool, the winners of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. As Chelsea had already qualified for the Champions League group stage through their league performance, the group stage berth reserved for the Europa League winners was given to the third-placed team of the 2018–19 Ligue 1, Lyon, as the French Football Federation, which oversees Ligue 1, was the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.[6][7]

Starting from this season, the Europa League final was played in the same week as the Champions League final.[8] In March 2018, UEFA announced that a fourth substitution would be allowed in extra time and that the number of substitutes had been increased from 7 to 12. The kick-off time was also changed from 20:45 CEST to 21:00 CEST.[9] It was the first Europa League match ever to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system.[10]

  1. ^ "Chelsea win the 2019 UEFA Europa League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference officials was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference attendance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Tactical Lineups – Final – Wednesday 29 May 2019" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Madrid to host UEFA Champions League Final 2019". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Champions League and Europa League changes next season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Country coefficients 2017/18". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  8. ^ "UEFA Europa League Final 2019 to be played on 29 May". UEFA. 4 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Additional fine-tuning of club competition regulations for 2018/19 onwards". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  10. ^ "VAR to be used in UEFA Champions League knockout phase". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.