The Europa League Final

And so, Chelsea will contest a second consecutive European Final in less than a year, this time against Portuguese giants SL Benfica.









The two clubs share the fact that they began the year in a different European competition altogether. Both featured in the Champions League from the start of the season and both were considered strong likelihoods to get out of their groups. Ultimately though, both finished 3rd and were entered into the Europa League Round of 32; and both now, 8 games later, find themselves in the Final and 90 minutes away from lifting a European cup.







This will also be the second time in as many seasons that the two clubs have met in European competition, having faced off in last year's Champions League quarterfinals, a two-legged affair won by Chelsea home and away.








Both managers in this match have enjoyed success in Europe, boasting 3 European trophies in the last decade between them. Benfica manager Jesus won the now-defunct Intertoto Cup with another Portuguese side, Braga, in 2008, while Benitez lifted the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, reached another Final in 2007, and also won this trophy itself with Valencia in 2003.









Both clubs played crucial domestic games the weekend preceding this match. Chelsea traveled to Birmingham to play an in-form Aston Villa side at Villa Park - not exactly a happy hunting ground for the Blues in recent years - in their quest for a Top 4 finish. A win there would virtually guarantee CL qualification for next season, and Rafael Benitez and his team would surely have loved to go into this Final having a Top 4 place already wrapped up. And after going behind and having a player sent off, the Londoners managed to pull the game back in their favour and won 2-1, courteousy of a Frank Lampard brace that makes him Chelsea outright highest scorer ever.

Benfica, too, had a pivotal match in their own domestic season. 2 points ahead in first of rivals Porto with 2 games left, the Lisbon team traveled to Porto for a game that could well end up being the one that decides where the Portuguese title will go. Win and Benfica would be Champions, lose and they'd fall a point behind with just one game remaining to rectify it. In the end, they too went ahead, and even after Porto pulled one back not long after, with the score remaining 1-1 and the game drawing to a close, Benfica were nearly there...until Porto scored in the 91st minute with a Maxi Pereira own goal to crush the dreams of the visitors. Certainly can't bode well for morale going into Wednesday's match.









Eden Hazard and John Terry sustained injuries at the weekend against Villa that will likely rule them out of the Final, in addition to Ryan Bertrand, who would almost certainly not have started anyway, while Benfica will be without Maxi Pereira who picked up a yellow card in the semifinal second leg against Fenerbahce which rules him out of this Final.









Both clubs will be going for their first Cup win in this competition. This will be Chelsea's first Final in this tournament, while Benfica have contested one once before, in 1983, where they were defeated 2-1 on aggregate by Anderlecht. Chelsea can also make history on a number of fronts should they prevail in Amsterdam:








The match kicks off on Wednesday, May 15th at 7:45pm BST, 8:45pm local time.

Dat pre match write up

Looks like Hazard and JT will be out and with Oscar and Ivanovic being rested vs Villa theyll he'll start for sure, although you'd think FSW would want Luiz in the pivot becuase Benfica are going to go for it right from the first whistle. I think we'll see something like this:

Great preview

fatman123 wrote:Dat pre match write up

Looks like Hazard and JT will be out and with Oscar and Ivanovic being rested vs Villa theyll he'll start for sure, although you'd think FSW would want Luiz in the pivot becuase Benfica are going to go for it right from the first whistle. I think we'll see something like this:

Cech
Azpil-Ivanovic-Cahill-Cole
Luiz-Lampard
Mata-Oscar-Moses
Torres

I am not sure I want Cahill starting, I think I'd rather have Luiz at CB and Ramires in the Pivot. I feel it will be one of the two though.

Great preview Sheddy.

fatman123 wrote:Dat pre match write up

Rebelles.REUS.rex wrote:Great preview

Kick wrote:Great preview Sheddy.

First time you tried in a while.

Anyone else worried that without Hazard and Ba, Only Mata, Lampard and maybe Ramires and Luiz are likely to score?

Kick wrote:First time you tried in a while.

It's an important game, arsehole

Kick wrote:Anyone else worried that without Hazard and Ba, Only Mata, Lampard and maybe Ramires and Luiz are likely to score?

We've gotten to this stage without Ba, and he's not exactly looked all that good lately anyway. We've got goals all over the pitch. He'll be a big miss for sure, though

True, only our fullbacks and Nina are not likely to score.

Jesus' reaction when the Porto winner that takes them top of the League went in.


Let's hope to see him doing that again come Wednesday

We certainly have momentum on our side.

Us watching Frankie do what he does best and Benfica watching the title slip from their hands.

To beat that freakazoid for the 3rd time on the spin would be fantastic.

To win another Trophy would be fantastic.

Chances of Bosingwa showing up for the lifting ceremony to reprise his role from last year?

0%, unless Jose as taken up weed since his move to QPR. I guess it's possible, I'd want to do all I could to forget I'm a QPR player if I played there.

Torres to do a Bosingwa!

God, I hope not.

wanna bet?

He wouldn't dare

No.

whatever, Torres plays good against 2nd level european teams lol, so im going to throw it up for him to be a goal threat in this match. And I feel this is destiny for us to win this final.

Chelsea against the world

Wigan winning the FAC proved anything can happen in football, We must not underestimate Benfica, I do feel it's our game to lose though. We are the stronger side.

Thats true, wigan did defend very well and didnt let city do much of anything. Idk much of benfica, but I know they play better than wigan. We need to have the same unity we had in the CL last year, and then there will be no stopping us

We just have to play our game and we will win. As long as DL4 and Ivan are on form, I don't think Benfica will score.

Uncanny wrote:whatever, Torres plays good against 2nd level european teams lol, so im going to throw it up for him to be a goal threat in this match. And I feel this is destiny for us to win this final.

Chelsea against the world

I highly doubt that Benfica is a '2nd level European team'..

Benfica, like us, started off in the CL. They're not a 2nd level team.