Despite a bright start from the Gunners, Chelsea ran riot in the second half with three goals in quick succession.
Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, who made 253 appearances during his six years at the Emirates, broke the goalless deadlock with a wonderful header in the 49th minute before Pedro doubled Chelsea’s lead moments after.
The Frenchman barely celebrated the goal which helped end Arsenal’s hopes of Champions League football next season.
With Arsenal unraveling, Eden Hazard was on hand to add a third — dispatching an expert penalty after Giroud was fouled in the box.
Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi did produce a moment of inspiration — smashing a shot into the top corner — but it proved little more than a consolation after Hazard added a fourth following a sweeping counter-attack.
Empty seats and a muted crowd is hardly what you would expect from a major European final but the venue was always a strange choice for the two clubs.
It sits nearly 3,000 miles from London, where both finalists are based less than nine miles apart.
As a result of the epic journey, a combined 6,000 tickets allocated to the clubs were returned and the atmosphere seemed to suffer as a result.
More to follow…
Source : Nbcnewyork
