2019 UEFA Europa League final facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2019 UEFA Europa League Final

2019 UEFA Europa League Final programme.jpg

Match programme cover

Event

2018–19 UEFA Europa League

Chelsea	Arsenal

4	1

Date

29 May 2019

Venue

Olympic Stadium, Baku

Man of the Match

Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Referee

Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)

Attendance

51,370

Weather

Clear night
21 °C (70 °F)
74% humidity

← 2018

2020 →

The 2019 UEFA Europa League Final was the big championship game of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. This was the 48th time this important European football tournament was held. It was also the 10th season since the tournament changed its name from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

The match took place on May 29, 2019, at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan. Two English teams, Chelsea and Arsenal, played against each other. They had both won their semi-final games to reach the final. This meant it was a special "London derby" final, as both teams are from London. It was only the second time two English teams played in this final.

Chelsea won the final with a score of 4–1, earning their second UEFA Europa League title. Because they won, Chelsea got to play against Liverpool in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. Liverpool had won the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League. Since Chelsea had already qualified for the Champions League through their league games, the spot for the Europa League winner went to Lyon from France.

Starting from this season, the Europa League final was played in the same week as the Champions League final. New rules were also introduced for this game. Teams could now make a fourth substitution if the game went into extra time. The number of players allowed on the substitutes' bench also increased from 7 to 12. This final was also the first Europa League match to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system.

Teams in the Final

Here's a look at how Chelsea and Arsenal had done in previous finals:

Team	Previous final appearances (bold means they won)
Chelsea	1 (2013)
Arsenal	1 (2000)

The Stadium

The Olympic Stadium in Baku hosted the final.

This was the very first time a big European club final was held in Azerbaijan. The Baku Olympic Stadium was also chosen to host games for UEFA Euro 2020.

Choosing the Host City

UEFA, the organization that runs these tournaments, started a new way to pick host cities in 2016. Cities had to show their interest and then send in detailed plans.

In 2017, six countries showed interest in hosting the final. Three of them officially sent in their bids:

Cities that wanted to host the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final
Country	Stadium	City	Capacity
Azerbaijan	Baku Olympic Stadium	Baku	69,870
Spain	Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán	Seville	42,500
Turkey	Vodafone Park	Istanbul	41,903

On September 20, 2017, UEFA chose the Baku Olympic Stadium to host the final.

Team Journeys to the Final

Arsenal manager Unai Emery had won three Europa League finals before this one.

Chelsea was playing in their second Europa League final. They had won their first one in 2013 against Benfica. This was Chelsea's sixth European final overall. They had won two Cup Winners' Cup finals (in 1971 and 1998) and played in two UEFA Champions League finals (losing in 2008 and winning in 2012).

For Arsenal, this was also their second Europa League final. They had lost their first one in 2000 to Galatasaray after a penalty shootout. This was Arsenal's sixth time in a UEFA competition final. Their most recent final was the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, which they lost to Barcelona.

The match was special for Arsenal's manager, Unai Emery. He had won the Europa League three times in a row with Sevilla from 2014 to 2016. This was his fourth Europa League final, setting a new record for managers.

This final was the 198th time that London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal had played each other. Arsenal had won 76 of these games, Chelsea had won 63, and 58 games were draws. They had met twice in the 2018–19 Premier League season, with each team winning their home game. They had also played each other once before in a European competition, in the quarter-finals of the 2003–04 Champions League, where Chelsea won.

This was the second time two English teams played in the UEFA Cup/Europa League final. The first time was in 1972. It was also the first Europa League final where both teams were from the same city (London).

How They Reached the Final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Chelsea

Round

Arsenal

Opponent

Result

Group stage

Opponent

Result

PAOK

1–0 (A)

Matchday 1

Vorskla Poltava

4–2 (H)

MOL Vidi

1–0 (H)

Matchday 2

Qarabağ

3–0 (A)

BATE Borisov

3–1 (H)

Matchday 3

Sporting CP

1–0 (A)

BATE Borisov

1–0 (A)

Matchday 4

Sporting CP

0–0 (H)

PAOK

4–0 (H)

Matchday 5

Vorskla Poltava

3–0 (A)

MOL Vidi

2–2 (A)

Matchday 6

Qarabağ

1–0 (H)

Group L winners The 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage was an exciting part of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League football tournament. It happened between September 20 and December 13, 2018. In this stage, 48 different teams played against each other. They were all trying to win one of the 24 spots in the next part of the competition, called the knockout stage.

How the Group Stage Works

In the group stage, teams are put into smaller groups. Each team plays every other team in their group twice. One game is played at their home stadium, and the other is played away. This is called a "round-robin" format.

Moving to the Next Round

After all the games in a group are played, the teams are ranked. The team that finishes first (the "group winner") and the team that finishes second (the "runner-up") both move on. They go to the Round of 32, which is the start of the knockout stage.

Teams that finish third in their Europa League group also get another chance. They join the Europa League Round of 32. They are also joined by eight teams that finished third in the Champions League group stage.

How Teams are Ranked (Tiebreakers)

Sometimes, two or more teams might have the same number of points. To decide who ranks higher, special rules are used. Here's how they figure it out:

Points in Head-to-Head Matches: They first look at the games played only between the tied teams. The team with more points from those games ranks higher.
Goal Difference in Head-to-Head Matches: If points are still tied, they look at the goal difference (goals scored minus goals against) in games between only the tied teams.
Goals Scored in Head-to-Head Matches: If still tied, they check who scored more goals in games between only the tied teams.
Away Goals in Head-to-Head Matches: If it's still a tie, they count away goals scored in games between only the tied teams.
Reapply Rules if Still Tied: If more than two teams are tied and these rules don't separate them all, they reapply the rules only to the teams that are still tied.
Goal Difference in All Group Matches: If teams are still tied after all that, they look at the goal difference from all games in the group.
Goals Scored in All Group Matches: Next, they check who scored more goals in all group matches.
Away Goals Scored in All Group Matches: Then, they count away goals scored in all group matches.
Wins in All Group Matches: After that, they look at who had more wins in all group matches.
Away Wins in All Group Matches: Then, they count who had more away wins in all group matches.
Disciplinary Points: This is about fair play. Teams get points for yellow and red cards (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point). The team with fewer disciplinary points ranks higher.
UEFA Club Coefficient: Finally, if everything else is still tied, they use a special ranking system called the UEFA club coefficient.

Group Matches

The games in the group stage were played on specific dates: September 20, October 4, October 25, November 8, November 29, and December 13, 2018. Kick-off times were usually 18:55 or 21:00 CEST/CET.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	LEV	ZUR	AKL	LUD
1	Bayer Leverkusen	6	4	1	1	16	9	+7	13	Advance to knockout phase	—	1–0	4–2	1–1
2	Zürich	6	3	1	2	7	6	+1	10	Advance to knockout phase	3–2	—	1–2	1–0
3	AEK Larnaca	6	1	2	3	6	12	−6	5		1–5	0–1	—	1–1
4	Ludogorets Razgrad	6	0	4	2	5	7	−2	4		2–3	1–1	0–0	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: AEK Larnaca played Zürich, with Zürich winning 1-0. Ludogorets Razgrad played Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayer Leverkusen won 3-2.
Matchday 2: Bayer Leverkusen won against AEK Larnaca 4-2. Zürich won against Ludogorets Razgrad 1-0.

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	SAL	CEL	RBL	ROS
1	Red Bull Salzburg	6	6	0	0	17	6	+11	18	Advance to knockout phase	—	3–1	1–0	3–0
2	Celtic	6	3	0	3	6	8	−2	9	Advance to knockout phase	1–2	—	2–1	1–0
3	RB Leipzig	6	2	1	3	9	8	+1	7		2–3	2–0	—	1–1
4	Rosenborg	6	0	1	5	4	14	−10	1		2–5	0–1	1–3	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: RB Leipzig played Red Bull Salzburg, with Red Bull Salzburg winning 3-2. Celtic played Rosenborg, and Celtic won 1-0.
Matchday 2: Rosenborg played RB Leipzig, with RB Leipzig winning 3-1. Red Bull Salzburg won against Celtic 3-1.

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	ZEN	SLP	BOR	KOB
1	Zenit Saint Petersburg	6	3	2	1	6	5	+1	11	Advance to knockout phase	—	1–0	2–1	1–0
2	Slavia Prague	6	3	1	2	4	3	+1	10	Advance to knockout phase	2–0	—	1–0	0–0
3	Bordeaux	6	2	1	3	6	6	0	7		1–1	2–0	—	1–2
4	Copenhagen	6	1	2	3	3	5	−2	5		1–1	0–1	0–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: Copenhagen played Zenit Saint Petersburg, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Slavia Prague won against Bordeaux 1-0.
Matchday 2: Bordeaux played Copenhagen, with Copenhagen winning 2-1. Zenit Saint Petersburg won against Slavia Prague 1-0.

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	DZG	FEN	SPT	AND
1	Dinamo Zagreb	6	4	2	0	11	3	+8	14	Advance to knockout phase	—	4–1	3–1	0–0
2	Fenerbahçe	6	2	2	2	7	7	0	8	Advance to knockout phase	0–0	—	2–0	2–0
3	Spartak Trnava	6	2	1	3	4	7	−3	7		1–2	1–0	—	1–0
4	Anderlecht	6	0	3	3	2	7	−5	3		0–2	2–2	0–0	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: Spartak Trnava won against Anderlecht 1-0. Dinamo Zagreb won against Fenerbahçe 4-1.
Matchday 2: Fenerbahçe won against Spartak Trnava 2-0. Anderlecht played Dinamo Zagreb, with Dinamo Zagreb winning 2-0.

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	ARS	SPO	VOR	QRB
1	Arsenal	6	5	1	0	12	2	+10	16	Advance to knockout phase	—	0–0	4–2	1-0
2	Sporting CP	6	4	1	1	13	3	+10	13	Advance to knockout phase	0–1	—	3-0	2–0
3	Vorskla Poltava	6	1	0	5	4	13	−9	3		0–3	1–2	—	0–1
4	Qarabağ	6	1	0	5	2	13	−11	3		0–3	1–6	0–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

Matchday 1: Sporting CP won against Qarabağ 2-0. Arsenal won against Vorskla Poltava 4-2.
Matchday 2: Vorskla Poltava played Sporting CP, with Sporting CP winning 2-1. Qarabağ played Arsenal, and Arsenal won 3-0.

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	BET	OLY	MIL	DUD
1	Real Betis	6	3	3	0	7	2	+5	12	Advance to knockout phase	—	1–0	1–1	3–0
2	Olympiacos	6	3	1	2	11	6	+5	10	Advance to knockout phase	0–0	—	3–1	5–1
3	Milan	6	3	1	2	12	9	+3	10		1–2	3–1	—	5–2
4	F91 Dudelange	6	0	1	5	3	16	−13	1		0–0	0–2	0–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

Matchday 1: F91 Dudelange played Milan, with Milan winning 1-0. Olympiacos played Real Betis, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
Matchday 2: Real Betis won against F91 Dudelange 3-0. Milan won against Olympiacos 3-1.

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	VIL	RW	RAN	SPM
1	Villarreal	6	2	4	0	12	5	+7	10	Advance to knockout phase	—	5–0	2–2	2–0
2	Rapid Wien	6	3	1	2	6	9	−3	10	Advance to knockout phase	0–0	—	1–0	2–0
3	Rangers	6	1	3	2	8	8	0	6		0–0	3–1	—	0–0
4	Spartak Moscow	6	1	2	3	8	12	−4	5		3–3	1–2	4–3	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

Matchday 1: Villarreal played Rangers, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Rapid Wien won against Spartak Moscow 2-0.
Matchday 2: Spartak Moscow played Villarreal, and the game ended in a 3-3 draw. Rangers won against Rapid Wien 3-1.

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	FRA	LAZ	APL	MAR
1	Eintracht Frankfurt	6	6	0	0	17	5	+12	18	Advance to knockout phase	—	4–1	2–0	4–0
2	Lazio	6	3	0	3	9	11	−2	9	Advance to knockout phase	1–2	—	2–1	2–1
3	Apollon Limassol	6	2	1	3	10	10	0	7		2–3	2–0	—	2–2
4	Marseille	6	0	1	5	6	16	−10	1		1–2	1–3	1–3	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: Marseille played Eintracht Frankfurt, with Eintracht Frankfurt winning 2-1. Lazio won against Apollon Limassol 2-1.
Matchday 2: Apollon Limassol played Marseille, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Eintracht Frankfurt won against Lazio 4-1.

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	GNK	MAL	BES	SRP
1	Genk	6	3	2	1	14	8	+6	11	Advance to knockout phase	—	2–0	1–1	4–0
2	Malmö FF	6	2	3	1	7	6	+1	9	Advance to knockout phase	2–2	—	2–0	1–1
3	Beşiktaş	6	2	1	3	9	11	−2	7		2–4	0–1	—	3–1
4	Sarpsborg 08	6	1	2	3	8	13	−5	5		3–1	1–1	2–3	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: Beşiktaş won against Sarpsborg 08 3-1. Genk won against Malmö FF 2-0.
Matchday 2: Malmö FF won against Beşiktaş 2-0. Sarpsborg 08 won against Genk 3-1.

Group J

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	SEV	KRA	STL	AKH
1	Sevilla	6	4	0	2	18	6	+12	12	Advance to knockout phase	—	3–0	5–1	6–0
2	Krasnodar	6	4	0	2	8	8	0	12	Advance to knockout phase	2–1	—	2–1	2–1
3	Standard Liège	6	3	1	2	7	9	−2	10		1–0	2–1	—	2–1
4	Akhisarspor	6	0	1	5	4	14	−10	1		2–3	0–1	0–0	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

Matchday 1: Sevilla won against Standard Liège 5-1. Akhisarspor played Krasnodar, with Krasnodar winning 1-0.
Matchday 2: Krasnodar won against Sevilla 2-1. Standard Liège won against Akhisarspor 2-1.

Group K

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	DKV	REN	AST	JAB
1	Dynamo Kyiv	6	3	2	1	10	7	+3	11	Advance to knockout phase	—	3–1	2–2	0–1
2	Rennes	6	3	0	3	7	8	−1	9	Advance to knockout phase	1–2	—	2–0	2–1
3	Astana	6	2	2	2	7	7	0	8		0–1	2–0	—	2–1
4	Jablonec	6	1	2	3	6	8	−2	5		2–2	0–1	1–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: Rennes won against Jablonec 2-1. Dynamo Kyiv played Astana, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Matchday 2: Astana won against Rennes 2-0. Jablonec played Dynamo Kyiv, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Group L

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	CHL	BATE	VID	PAOK
1	Chelsea	6	5	1	0	12	3	+9	16	Advance to knockout phase	—	3–1	1–0	4–0
2	BATE Borisov	6	3	0	3	9	9	0	9	Advance to knockout phase	0–1	—	2–0	1–4
3	MOL Vidi	6	2	1	3	5	7	−2	7		2–2	0–2	—	1–0
4	PAOK	6	1	0	5	5	12	−7	3		0–1	1–3	0–2	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matchday 1: PAOK played Chelsea, with Chelsea winning 1-0. MOL Vidi played BATE Borisov, with BATE Borisov winning 2-0.
Matchday 2: BATE Borisov played PAOK, with PAOK winning 4-1. Chelsea won against MOL Vidi 1-0.

Final standings

Group E winners The 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage was an exciting part of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League football tournament. It happened between September 20 and December 13, 2018. In this stage, 48 different teams played against each other. They were all trying to win one of the 24 spots in the next part of the competition, called the knockout stage.