Chelsea v Arsenal: Both sides' route to 2018/19 Europa League final in Baku
Chelsea and Arsenal will meet in the Europa League's showpiece event on May 29. We look at their route to the Baku final.
Chelsea
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- PAOK Salonika 0-1 Chelsea (Group stage, September 20, 2018)
Willian struck early from a Ross Barkley lay-off to get Chelsea's campaign in Group L off to a winning start in Greece.
- Chelsea 1-0 MOL Vidi (Group stage, October 4, 2018)
Alvaro Morata scored the only goal after 70 minutes as the Blues finally wore down the stubborn Hungarian champions.
- Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov (Group stage, October 25, 2018)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored a superb hat-trick - his opening two goals coming in the first eight minutes - as Maurizio Sarri's side cruised to victory.
- BATE Borisov 0-1 Chelsea (Group stage, November 8, 2018)
Chelsea secured their place in the knockout stages as Olivier Giroud scored his first goal in six months early in the second half in Belarus.
- Chelsea 4-0 PAOK Salonika (Group stage, November 29, 2018)
Giroud grabbed two in the first half and Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morata netted after the break in a convincing victory over PAOK, who had Yevhen Khacheridi sent off in the seventh minute.
- MOL Vidi 2-2 Chelsea (Group stage, December 13, 2018)
Chelsea, who made 10 changes for what was a dead rubber, came from behind to claim a draw with an equaliser from Giroud, Willian having earlier opened the scoring.
- Malmo 1-2 Chelsea (Round of 32 first leg, February 14, 2019)
Goals from Barkley and Giroud put Chelsea in control but a late reply from Anders Christiansen gave the Swedish side hope ahead of the second leg.
- Chelsea 3-0 Malmo (Round of 32 first leg, February 21, 2019)
After a slow start, Chelsea wrapped up a 5-1 aggregate win with second-half strikes from Giroud, Barkley and Hudson-Odoi while Malmo finished with 10 men after the dismissal of Rasmus Bengtsson.
- Chelsea 3-0 Dynamo Kiev (Round of 16 first leg, March 7, 2019)
Chelsea put one foot in the last eight with a comfortable win at Stamford Bridge, the goals coming from Pedro, Willian and Hudson-Odoi.
- Dynamo Kiev 0-5 Chelsea (Round of 16 second leg, March 14, 2019)
Giroud hit a hat-trick and further goals came from Marcos Alonso and Hudson-Odoi as Chelsea powered through 8-0 on aggregate.
- Slavia Prague 0-1 Chelsea (Quarter-final first leg, April 11, 2019)
Alonso struck four minutes from time as Chelsea snatched the advantage after a tough encounter in the Czech Republic.
- Chelsea 4-3 Slavia Prague (Quarter-final second leg, April 18, 2019)
Chelsea struck four times in the first 27 minutes to seemingly put the tie to bed with a Pedro double, a Giroud effort and an own goal. Two stunning Petr Sevcik strikes after the break, adding to Tomas Soucek's earlier header, made for a nervy finish but the Blues prevailed 5-3 on aggregate.
- Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Chelsea (Semi-final first leg, May 2, 2019)
Pedro scored the equaliser as Chelsea replied to Luka Jovic's strike to claim a draw in Germany.
- Chelsea 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt - Blues win tie 4-3 on penalties (Semi-final second leg, May 9, 2019)
Chelsea needed penalties to reach the final after Jovic cancelled out a Loftus-Cheek goal. Eden Hazard scored the decisive spot-kick in what could have been his final appearance at Stamford Bridge after Kepa Arrizabalaga made two saves.
Arsenal
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- Arsenal 4-2 Vorskla Poltava (Group stage, September 20, 2018)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored in either half for a much-changed Arsenal side in Unai Emery's first European game as Gunners head coach. Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil also netted.
- Qarabag 0-3 Arsenal (Group stage, October 4, 2018)
Arsenal got a taste of Baku as they travelled for their first away game of Group E. The scoreline flattered the visitors as Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Emile Smith Rowe and Matteo Guendouzi all scored their first goals for the club.
- Sporting Lisbon 0-1 Arsenal (Group stage, October 25, 2018)
Danny Welbeck scored the only goal in the Portuguese capital as Arsenal extended their winning streak across all competitions to 11 games. The England international had already had a header chalked off for a foul.
- Arsenal 0-0 Sporting Lisbon (Group stage, November 8, 2018)
A goalless draw back at the Emirates Stadium sealed Arsenal's place in the knockout rounds - but was overshadowed by Welbeck suffering a broken ankle which meant it would prove to be his final game for Arsenal. Sporting had Jeremy Mathieu sent off for scything down Aubameyang.
- Vorskla Poltava 0-3 Arsenal (Group stage, November 29, 2018)
Top spot in Group E was secured in a matched switched at short notice to Kiev, 185 miles east of Poltava, with parts of Ukraine under martial law due to political tensions with Russia. Smith Rowe and Joe Willock scored either side of an Aaron Ramsey penalty.
- Arsenal 1-0 Qarabag (Group stage, December 13, 2018)
A dead rubber allowed Emery to welcome captain Laurent Koscielny back from long-term injury in a game settled by Alexandre Lacazette's goal.
- BATE Borisov 1-0 Arsenal (Round of 32 first leg, February 14, 2019)
Having thrashed BATE in Belarus during last season's group stage, Arsenal were shocked to leave the Borisov Arena with a first-leg deficit. Stanislav Dragun's header on the stroke of half-time earned the hosts a famous win as Lacazette was sent off late on.
- Arsenal 3-0 BATE Borisov (Round of 32 second leg, February 21, 2019)
Arsenal soon redressed the balance in a second leg which saw Aleksandr Hleb return to the Emirates Stadium. A fourth-minute Zakhar Volkov own goal levelled the tie before headers from defensive duo Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis booked a place in the last 16.
- Rennes 3-1 Arsenal (Round of 16 first leg, March 7, 2019)
More away-day blues greeted Emery in north-west France, despite Alex Iwobi giving Arsenal an early lead at Roazhon Park. Sokratis was sent off in the first half for two yellow cards as Benjamin Bourigeaud levelled with a fine strike before Nacho Monreal's own goal and a late Ismaila Sarr header.
- Arsenal 3-0 Rennes (Round of 16 second leg, March 14, 2019)
Once again, Arsenal bounced back in front of their own fans as Aubameyang hit a brace and Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored just his second Arsenal goal to seal a narrow aggregate victory.
- Arsenal 2-0 Napoli (Quarter-final first leg, April 11, 2019)
Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli were expected to give Arsenal their toughest test to date but the Gunners were too good. Ramsey hit his last ever Emirates Stadium goal before a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave them a stronger lead.
- Napoli 0-1 Arsenal (Quarter-final second leg, April 18, 2019)
A Lacazette free-kick was enough to secure a rare away win and seal progression into a second successive Europa League semi-final - Emery showing the nous which saw him lift three Europa League titles in a row with Sevilla.
- Arsenal 3-1 Valencia (Semi-final first leg, May 2, 2019)
Another of Emery's former clubs was waiting for Arsenal in the last four, with Valencia taking the lead through Mouctar Diakhaby's header. Arsenal had their deadly frontline to thank for turning the tie around as Lacazette scored a first-half brace before Aubameyang added a third in the final minute.
- Valencia 2 Arsenal 4 (Semi-final second leg May 9, 2019)
Kevin Gameiro's goal gave Valencia some hope of an unlikely comeback but Aubameyang hit a hat-trick, with Lacazette again on the scoresheet as even a second Gameiro effort after the break was nowhere near enough for Valencia.
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