Chelsea turned on the style to thrash Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final on Wednesday night in what is expected to be Eden Hazard’s final appearance for the club.
Hazard, 28, was yet again at his majestic best as he converted from the penalty spot and finished off a slick attacking move to net the Blues’ third and fourth goals of the evening respectively.
After a drab first half showing from both sides, Chelsea produced a rampant second-half display to blow away Unai Emery’s side.
Former Gunner Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock after converting Emerson’s inviting cross from the left with a brilliant header.
One soon became two on the hour mark as Hazard slipped a sumptuous ball through to Pedro, who in turn whipped the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
And the game was as good as over five minutes later, as Hazard stepped up to send Petr Cech the wrong way from the penalty spot after Ainsley Maitland-Niles was penalised for clumsily bundling over Giroud.
Substitute Alex Iwobi’s explosive effort proved to be a brief lifeline for the Gunners, as the imperious Hazard capped off a slick passing move, linking up brilliantly with Giroud before rolling the ball past a helpless Cech to end the match as a contest three minutes later.
It caps off an impressive first season for Sarri, with the Blues finishing third in the Premier League – while they were also Carabao Cup finalists.
It has been another year of huge disappointment for Arsenal though, with Unai Emery’s first season in English football not going to plan – with the north London outfit set for a third season without Champions League football next term.
Chelsea cult hero Eidur Gudjohnsen wants to see more of Callum Hudson-Odoi, insisting the Blues are better when he plays.
The former striker, who made 263 appearances for the west London club, believes the 18-year-old winger is ready to feature more regularly after finally earning his first Premier League start against Brighton.
Chelsea fans have been crying out for Maurizio Sarri to use the academy graduate, who continues to be linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.
“As a young player coming through, you have to take your chances and use the opportunities well. Every time he’s been given a chance, he’s shown that he’s got the qualities,†Gudjohnsen told talkSPORT.
“You do feel that with Hudson-Odoi on the pitch, Chelsea look like a better team.
“He’s got time but he’s shown that he’s ready and we would love to see a talent like that on the pitch even more.â€
An assist on his full league debut in the 3-0 victory over Brighton did much to boost his case, as the Blues produced one of their more impressive performances of the season.
However, a lack of consistency leaves Sarri’s side locked in a tense battle for the top four spots, and Gudjohnsen admits it’s been a frustrating season.
“At their best they can compete with the best teams, they can beat anyone. But they haven’t found the consistency this season.
“It’ll be a very important run-in from now until the end of the season, because they would love to be in the Champions League next year.
“If you look at the Europa League, that’s not only a great opportunity to win the oldest trophy in European football, and that Champions League spot is up for grabs.â€
The Icelander, 40, also suggests constant speculation around the futures of Sarri and star man Eden Hazard has a negative impact on the team’s performances.
He added: “You can see on the pitch that there’s a lack of stability at the club.â€
Everton are ‘very interested’ in signing Fulham star Aleksandar Mitrovic, according to reports.
Fulham are reluctant to sell the Serbia striker, who wants to play Premier League football next season.
Mitrovic’s 11 goals could not help the Cottagers avoid an instant return to the Championship as they finished ten points off 17th-placed Brighton.
Sky Sports claim Everton want to buy a striker this summer and the 24-year-old is understood to be high on their list of targets.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin managed just eight goals in the 2018/19 season as the Toffees relied heavily on Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson to find the back of the net.
Mitrovic, who only joined Fulham in a £22million deal from Newcastle last summer after spending a period on loan at Craven Cottage, would add much-needed firepower to Everton’s attack.
Last month, Fulham boss Scott Parker insisted the club would do ‘everything they can’ to keep their top scorer.
He said: “It will be vitally important really, he’s a top-class centre-forward and I think you’ve seen that evidence in the last two games.
“I know what the owners think, I know their ambition and certainly it is going to be a challenge.
“He’s a top-drawer centre-forward but at the same time I think that this football club will be doing everything they can to keep a player like Alek.”
Chelsea have vowed to take the ‘strongest possible action’ against fans caught on video singing a racist song about Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
The club are again in the headlines for the wrong reasons after footage emerged on Thursday evening showing a small group of their fan base in Prague chanting that ‘Salah is a bomber’.
Chelsea condemned the incident in a statement on their website, labelling the supporters an ’embarrassment’ to the club.
It read: “Chelsea FC finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour abhorrent and where there is clear evidence of Chelsea season ticket holders or members involved in such behaviour, we will take the strongest possible action against them.
“Such individuals are an embarrassment to the vast majority of Chelsea supporters who won’t tolerate them in their club.”
The statement comes after the west London side revealed three fans had been banned from Slavia Prague’s stadium for their side’s Europa League clash out in the Czech Republic after being identified.
Liverpool also underlined their dismay at the turn of events, calling it an example of ‘unadultered bigotry’.
“Liverpool Football Club believes it is the responsibility of those in positions of authority, following proper process, to act urgently to identify and then punish anyone committing a hate crime,” it said.
“This behaviour needs to be called out for what it is – unadulterated bigotry.
“There is no place for this behaviour in football, there is no place for it in society. A crime of this nature has more victims than any individual it is aimed at and, as such, collective and decisive action is needed to address it.
“As pertains to this latest incident, the club is working with Merseyside Police to ascertain the facts around this footage with the aim of identifying individuals featuring in it.
“In addition, we are working directly with Chelsea Football Club on the matter.
“We thank them for their condemnation and a commitment to act urgently to identify any individuals responsible.”
Anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out earlier vented their disgust at the incident, declaring they will work with the Premier League side to find the perpetrators.
Their statement read: “It’s not on the terraces but it is still a disgrace. We do not want fans like that anywhere near our game.
“We will be liaising with Chelsea Football Club to ensure those involved are identified and punished swiftly and effectively.”
It is the latest incident in a long line of racist and Islamophobic abuse that has blighted football recently.
Raheem Sterling, Danny Rose and Callum Hudson-Odoi  were all subject to monkey noises from the Montenegro crowd last month in England’s Euro 2020 qualifying match.
While Troy Deeney revealed he received vile messages on social media following Watford’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Wolves.
England and Man City winger Sterling was racially abused by Chelsea supporters earlier this season in their match at Stamford Bridge, leading to four fans being suspended from attending the ground.
This is the second incident of Islamophobia directed towards Salah after the Egyptian international appeared to be called a Muslim c*** by a West Ham fanat the London Stadium in February.
In Scotland, concerns have been raised about sectarian songs, with Steve Clarke and Kris Boyd victims in February.
Callum Hudson-Odoi starts for the fourth consecutive Premier League game as Chelsea welcome Burnley to Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
The 18-year-old is joined in Maurizio Sarri’s starting XI by fellow academy graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who also starts his fourth league game in a row.
Hudson-Odoi had to wait patiently for his full league debut, which didn’t come until early April against Brighton.
But since then, the forward has established himself as the club’s first choice on the right wing, ahead of Willian and Pedro, both of whom have been used in the Europa League instead.
There is also a start for Andreas Christensen, who replaces the injured Antonio Rudiger in defence.
Gonzalo Higuain, who has struggled since arriving on loan from Juventus in January, starts up front instead of Olivier Giroud.
For the visitors, Phil Bardsley misses out after failing a late fitness test.
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Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Kante, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Higuain, Hazard.
Subs: Barkley, Pedro, Caballero, Kovacic, Giroud, Zappacosta, Cahill.
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Barnes, Wood.
Subs: Gudmundsson, Brady, Gibson, Hart, Ward, Vydra, Long.
