Farewell gift? Hazard scores twice as Chelsea win Europa League final

Eden Hazard scored twice and then admitted it was his parting gift as the Belgians brace helped Chelsea sweep away Arsenal to win 41 in the Europa League final in BakuThis match started at 11pm local time on Wednesday in Azerbaijan but it was Thursday by the time it came to life with a flood of secondhalf goals started by Olivier Girouds 49thminute opener against his old clubHazard then set up Pedro Rodriguez for Chelseas second before grabbing a double of his own including a penalty either side of Alex Iwobis consolation for ArsenalThe Belgian is widely expected to leave Chelsea for Real Madrid after seven years in England and this was the perfect way for him to bow outI think it is a goodbye but in football you never know the 28 yearold told BT Sport My dream was to play in the Premier League and I have done that for one of the biggest clubs so maybe now it is the time for a new challengeIt is his and Chelseas second Europa League this decade while it is Maurizio Sarris first major trophy as a coachI am really very happy but the trophy is very important for the club Sarri saidIn the Europa League we played 15 matches won 12 and drew three so I think we deserved to win itChelsea will be back in the Champions League next season but there will be no return to Europes top table for ArsenalUnai Emerys side had to win here to qualify yet they were not good enough on a bizarre nightEmery was hoping to win this competition for the fourth time He will get another chance next season but for now Arsenals 25year wait to bring back a European trophy to north London goes onWe tried and we worked but Chelsea were better than us and congratulations to them Emery saidChelsea will remember their evening with fondness as will Sarri who 24 hours earlier had stolen the headlines when he angrily stormed off the pitch here during a training session in front of the television camerasSarri is a great guy a great coach and he deserves this said David Luiz of his coach Empty seats The few Chelsea supporters who came will not forget their night but the fact there were reportedly only around 1300 in Azerbaijan will be a source of regret for the clubUEFAs decision to play the game here had been heavily criticised with the difficulty and cost of coming to the shores of the Caspian Sea preventing many fans from travelling and meaning Arsenals Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan was controversially absentAzerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev was in the crowd but there were thousands of empty seats in a stadium which holds almost 70000That meant that far away from the blood and thunder of a typical derby fixture this had the feel of an endofseason exhibition match on a foreign tour for much of the first half anywayThe players seemed short of rhythm in a match played two and a half weeks after the Premier League season endedIt came to life though with a moment of controversy when referee Gianluca Rocchi dismissed Arsenal appeals for a penalty as Alexandre Lacazette went down under goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalagas challenge Giroud strikes again Granit Xhaka then saw his powerful strike from 25 yards graze the crossbar as the halfhour approachedOnly after that did Chelsea stir but Petr Cech in his final match before retiring blocked Emerson Palmieris shot and denied Giroud at the end of a fine moveHowever as the clock ticked past midnight after a goalless first half Chelsea went ahead when Giroud stole in front of Laurent Koscielny and stooped to head home Emersons crossIt was his 11th goal in this seasons competition and there was to be no comeback from Arsenal with Chelsea quickly putting this final beyond their opponents reach as Hazard took overHe set up Pedro for a clipped finish beyond Cech and into the far corner on the hour mark and five minutes later Hazard calmly rolled in a penalty awarded after Ainsley MaitlandNiles barged into GiroudSubstitute Iwobis sublime volleyed reply followed but Arsenal had left themselves with too much to do and Giroud and Hazard combined brilliantly for the latter to get his second and Chelseas fourth in the 72nd minuteThis is how fans reacted to the match on TwitterCrowd at the EUROPAFINAL tonight was fucking embarrassing European final and every 3rd seat was empty Anyone notice the SEVERE lack of crowd coverage from the cameras Play it in FRAESPGERGBRITA and itrsquos sold oldmdash Devilair Infection EP out now devilairdnb May 30 2019Irsquod like for my trip to Baku to just be a blank but thatrsquos not happening Despite the divided opinions on Emeryrsquos future itrsquod be a major shock if he was sacked right now simply cause itrsquos not in the clubrsquos nature to Arsenal CHEARS EuropaFinalmdash Mohit Gambani mohitgambani May 29 2019WE ARE THE FAMOUS CFC CFC EUROPAFINAL pictwittercomtsy2Gb4Vftmdash Baz CFCBazza May 29 2019All Chelsea fans mood right now u00f0u009fu0098u0082u00f0u009fu0098u0082u00f0u009fu0098u0082u00f0u009fu0098u0082 Chelsea EUROPAFINAL pictwittercom4H5gjFCbtWmdash DJ Eddy Dj_Eddy9 May 30 2019I actually fell asleep during second half afc EUROPAFINALmdash RizlaDizla RizlaDizla May 29 2019Well done to ChelseaFC winning the EUROPAFINAL a big get it up ye to your fans and Arsenal fans who couldnrsquot be arsed traveling to Baku Though the straights be broad or narrow and its follow we will you lot seem to have forgotten thismdash Craig Melrose melrose_craig May 29 2019I dont care about this final but singling Mesut out and saying that he didnt do enough is too harsh non of them did enough share the blame win as a team loose as a team work as a team simple Go argue with the ghost of your ancestors idc AFC EUROPAFINAL EuropaLeague2019 pictwittercomSChkEyD6Sjmdash Lrd Robert DeNegrou00f0u009fu0087u00b3u00f0u009fu0087u00acu00f0u009fu0087u00a9u00f0u009fu0087u00aa Wolowole May 29 2019At least Mkhitaryan got to play and win a Europe league title with a more superior team EuropaFinal pictwittercomMRpkiQ8VEFmdash u00e2u0099u00a1 rxcheeey May 29 2019Thank you hazardeden10 u00f0u009fu0092u0099I feel so emotional doing this u00f0u009fu0098u00a2UELFinal EuropaLeagueFinal2019 EUROPAFINAL Baku BakuFinal Chelsea Hazard Champions pictwittercomMTGf8kLAY8mdash Phizzytainment phizzytainment May 29 2019Catch up on all the latest IPL News and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates