The Warm-Up: Did somebody order a full English?
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Updated 10/05/2019 at 06:54 GMT
Arsenal and Chelsea are in the Europa League final - ensuring a slice of European history for England.
Chelsea and Arsenal celebrate their passage to the Europa League final
Image credit: Getty Images
FRIDAY’S BIG HEADLINES
Going Baku my roots
And so, in a season in which there have been only two good teams in the Premier League, England has provided all four finalists for the European finals. None of which are the current Premier League leaders. After Tottenham and Liverpool set up a rendezvous in Madrid for the Champions League final, last night it was the turn of Arsenal and Chelsea, who will now contest the Europa League final in, *checks notes*, lovely Baku.
After spending most of 2019 desperately trying and failing to leave Europe, England has now made history by becoming the first country to ever supply all the finalists for European cup competitions. Which is simultaneously amazing and a tiny bit boring. After two all-English finals in around 60 years (Wolves v Spurs in the 1972 UEFA Cup; Chelsea v United in Moscow in 2008), we suddenly have two at once, essentially extending the final round of Premier League matches by 20%.
Once they’ve negotiated horrendously high travel costs and 10hr plane trips with connections in random places, Chelsea and Arsenal fans are sure to be in a collegial mood when they meet up together in Baku for the final on May 29. That’ll be a real family day out. A joyous celebration of Londoness and community. Yep. Can’t foresee any issues there.
Both teams have struggled under new managers this season but either Unai Emery or Maurizio Sarri will now claim a European trophy - a handy asset as they try and convince some sceptical supporters that they do actually know what they are doing. Of the two, Arsenal qualified in the more impressive fashion, as a stunning hat-trick, and complete all-round performance, from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave them a 4-2 win in Valencia and a thumping 7-3 aggregate victory.
“Every player congratulated him and before the match I think we spoke in the hotel, everybody, about our moments, about our experiences, about being together and how we can take the best performance collectively and individually,” said Emery.
They made that and after the match congratulations because every player gave us all they can do in 90 minutes and after, individually, we can also speak about some players. Aubameyang for the goals, Lacazette for another goal but I think we worked very well and this work is for being proud of them and also remembering our supporters at home. We played last week and they were full in the stadium with us. Today they are coming here to support us and I think we can be proud of each single player and each single supporters.
Aubameyang scored four across the two legs with Alexandre Lacazette getting the other three - so it’s no secret where Arsenal’s hopes lie. For Chelsea the picture is rather less clear after an unconvincing 1-1 draw on the night followed by a penalty shoot-out win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring before Luka Jovic equalised - and Chelsea could easily have gone out bar some last-gasp defending in extra-time.
Kepa managed not to humiliate his manager before penalties arrived and then saved two in the shoot-out, with Eden Hazard slotting home the winning penno with what could transpire to be his last kick as a Chelsea player at Stamford Bridge.
“We played a great game but the semi-final is not so easy,” said Hazard. “We are happy and we will go to Baku to try to win the trophy. In the first half we were better but then like always this season we conceded after five minutes of the second half. It was 50-50 at the end. In the end our character was good and we go through.
I always take my responsibility when I have to. Today we are happy but it’s not finished. We have another game to play against Arsenal. We need to go there and play with quality and win the game.
If anyone ever wondered what the 39th game might look like, two half-decent Prem clubs duking it out in Baku might just be it.
How to ruin the Champions League
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Die Spieler von Ajax Amsterdam am Boden
Image credit: Getty Images
There is no better sporting competition in the world right now than the Champions League. The drama this season has been incredible, characterised largely by stunning comebacks and the sensational runs of clubs like Ajax and Tottenham. So it’s good to know that those in charge in football are determined to ruin all this.
Proposals about restructuring the competition have been floating around for some time now but this morning The New York Times has its hands on some documents which show just how transformative the changes could be.
The plan was presented to league officials this week and outlines a scenario where the top 21 clubs in the Champions League would automatically qualify for the next season’s competition. Teams would play in four groups of eight, extending the number of games played and potentially encroaching into weekends too, while champions from smaller nations, like Netherlands and Ajax for example, would play in a secondary tier of 32 - with another tier of 64 behind that. There would be limited promotion and relegation with only four incoming clubs in the top tier each year.
Basically a massive ruse to ensure that those clubs with the most money are able to make as much money as possible - and keep making as much money as possible for as long as possible. To hell with sport, and what at present is a brilliant competition. Obviously this proposal is a clear and present danger to domestic leagues. If Champions League participation is essentially guaranteed for a select few clubs then there is less motivation to excel at home. As La Liga chief Javier Tebas told the NYT:
We cannot accept that these are just plans and proposals for an open discussion with stakeholders about the future of professional football. In reality, we were presented with a concrete project developed by UEFA in full cooperation with a small group of rich and powerful European clubs to reform European club competitions after 2024 in a format that could destroy domestic competitions and the sporting and financial sustainability of the vast majority of clubs in Europe.
IN OTHER NEWS
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Mark Lawrenson:
IN THE CHANNELS
It was a big night for Manchester United last night as they held their player of the year awards (Luke Shaw was players’ player of the year, hilariously). But MUTV might not be extending an invite to Geoff Boycott next year.
IN THE CHANNELS 2
A Spanish TV reporter will be nursing a headache this morning:
COMING UP
It’s been a hectic, hectic week so take the chance just to decompress ahead of Sunday’s Premier League finale. We will have live text commentary on all the games involving the top six. As if you needed reminding, Manchester City are ahead of Liverpool by a solitary point.
And remember, the Giro d’Italia starts on Saturday, with every stage live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player!
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