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2013 UEFA Europa League Final
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Event2012–13 UEFA Europa League
Date15 May 2013
VenueAmsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Player of the MatchBranislav Ivanović (Chelsea)
RefereeBjörn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Attendance46,163
WeatherPartly cloudy
2012
2014

The 2013 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The match was played at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 15 May 2013, between Portuguese side Benfica and English side Chelsea. Chelsea won 2–1 to secure their first title in this competition.

Chelsea were the first UEFA Champions League title holders to play in the following season's UEFA Europa League, after becoming the first Champions League holders to be eliminated in the group stage. With this triumph, they became the first team to win the Champions League followed by the Europa League in successive seasons. Chelsea also became the fourth club, after Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munich, to win all three major UEFA club titles, having won the UEFA Champions League in 2012, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 and 1998. Chelsea were also the first team since Manchester United in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final to win a major European final without the use of any substitutions.

As a result of winning this competition, Chelsea secured a place in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup against the winners of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich.

Venue[]

The Amsterdam Arena was announced as the venue of the 2013 UEFA Europa League final on 16 June 2011. The home stadium of Ajax since 1996, it staged the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final, where Real Madrid beat Juventus 1–0 for their seventh title, and was also one of the UEFA Euro 2000 venues, hosting five games including a semi-final.

The previous home for Ajax's European matches, the Olympisch Stadion, also played host to European finals. One-legged finals include the 1962 European Cup Final, where Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5–3, and the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, where Anderlecht were beaten 2–0 by Hamburg. It also hosted the second legs of the 1981 UEFA Cup Final, between AZ '67 and Ipswich Town, and of the 1992 UEFA Cup Final, between Ajax and Torino.

Background[]

Benfica qualified for their ninth European final, the first in 23 years since their 1–0 loss to Milan in the 1990 European Cup Final. Previous appearances include back-to-back victories in the 1961 and 1962 European Cup finals (3–2 over Barcelona and 5–3 over Real Madrid, respectively) and unsuccessful presences in five other European Cup finals – 1963 (1–2 to Milan), 1965 (0–1 to Internazionale), 1968 (1–4 to Manchester United), 1988 (0–0, 5–6 on penalties to PSV Eindhoven) and 1990 (0–1 to Milan) – and one UEFA Cup final in 1983 (1–2 on aggregate to Anderlecht).

Before this season, Chelsea had never reached a final of the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League. They previously appeared in two UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1971 (2–1 win over Real Madrid) and 1998 (1–0 win over Stuttgart), and two UEFA Champions League finals in 2008 (1–1, lost 5–6 on penalties to Manchester United) and 2012 (1–1, won 4–3 on penalties over Bayern Munich).

The only previous meeting between Benfica and Chelsea in European competition was in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, which the English won 3–1 on aggregate (1–0 in Lisbon and 2–1 in London) en route to the title. Both Benfica and Chelsea finished third in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage, and entered the 2012–13 Europa League in the round of 32. It was the fourth time in the tournament's history that both finalists featured in the Champions League group stage earlier in the season, after 2000, 2002 and 2009.

Road to the final[]

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.

Flag of Portugal Benfica Round Flag of England Chelsea
Opponent Result Champions League
Group stage
Opponent Result
Flag of Scotland Celtic 0–0 (A) Matchday 1 Flag of Italy Juventus 2–2 (H)
Flag of Spain Barcelona 0–2 (H) Matchday 2 Flag of Denmark Nordsjælland 4–0 (A)
Flag of Russia Spartak Moscow 1–2 (A) Matchday 3 Flag of Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 1–2 (A)
Flag of Russia Spartak Moscow 2–0 (H) Matchday 4 Flag of Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 3–2 (H)
Flag of Scotland Celtic 2–1 (H) Matchday 5 Flag of Italy Juventus 0–3 (A)
Flag of Spain Barcelona 0–0 (A) Matchday 6 Flag of Denmark Nordsjælland 6–1 (H)
Champions League Group G third place
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Flag of Spain Barcelona 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 13
Flag of Scotland Celtic 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10
Flag of Portugal Benfica 6 2 2 2 5 5 0 8
Flag of Russia Spartak Moscow 6 1 0 5 7 14 −7 3
Final standings Champions League Group E third place
Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Notes
Flag of Italy Juventus 6 3 3 0 12 4 +8 12
Flag of Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 6 3 1 2 12 8 +4 10
Flag of England Chelsea 6 3 1 2 16 10 +6 10
Flag of Denmark Nordsjælland 6 0 1 5 4 22 −18 1
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Europa League
Knockout phase
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Flag of Germany Bayer Leverkusen 3–1 1–0 (A) 2–1 (H) Round of 32 Flag of Czech Republic Sparta Prague 2–1 1–0 (A) 1–1 (H)
Flag of France Bordeaux 4–2 1–0 (H) 3–2 (A) Round of 16 Flag of Romania Steaua București 3–2 0–1 (A) 3–1 (H)
Flag of England Newcastle United 4–2 3–1 (H) 1–1 (A) Quarter-finals Flag of Russia Rubin Kazan 5–4 3–1 (H) 2–3 (A)
Flag of Turkey Fenerbahçe 3–2 0–1 (A) 3–1 (H) Semi-finals Flag of Switzerland Basel 5–2 2–1 (A) 3–1 (H)

Pre-match[]

Ambassador[]

Former Dutch international Patrick Kluivert was appointed as the official ambassador for the final.

Ticketing[]

The international ticket sales phase for the general public ran from 3 December 2012 to 18 January 2013. Tickets were available in four price categories: €135, €100, €70, and €45. Each finalist club was allocated 9,800 tickets.

Match[]

Team news[]

Chelsea's Eden Hazard was ruled out of the final after not recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in Chelsea's 2–1 Premier League victory against Aston Villa on 11 May. Three players faced their former clubs: Benfica's Nemanja Matić, who was transferred from Chelsea, and Chelsea's David Luiz and Ramires, who were transferred from Benfica.

Summary[]

Fernando Torres put Chelsea ahead midway through the second half rounding the goalkeeper and clipping in after being put clean in on goal by Juan Mata. Óscar Cardozo equalised with a penalty eight minutes later awarded after Eduardo Salvio's header struck César Azpilicueta's hand. Branislav Ivanović scored in the final minute of stoppage time with a header into the far corner from a Mata corner from the right to clinch a 2–1 win for Chelsea and with it their first Europa League title.

Details[]

15 May 2013
20:45 CEST
Benfica Flag of Portugal 1–2 Flag of England Chelsea Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
Attendance: 46,163
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Cardozo Goal 68' (pen.) Report Torres Goal 60'
Ivanović Goal 90+3'
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Kit body benfica1213h
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Kit right arm benfica1213h
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Kit shorts adidasonwhite
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Kit socks benfica1213h
Kit socks long
Benfica
Kit left arm chelsea1213h
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body chelsea1213h
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Kit right arm chelsea1213h
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Chelsea
GK 1 Flag of Brazil Artur
RB 34 Flag of Portugal André Almeida
CB 4 Flag of Brazil Luisão (c) Booked in the 61st minute 61'
CB 24 Flag of Argentina Ezequiel Garay Booked in the 45+1th minute 45+1' Substituted off in the 78th minute 78'
LB 25 Flag of Paraguay Lorenzo Melgarejo Substituted off in the 66th minute 66'
CM 35 Flag of Argentina Enzo Pérez
CM 21 Flag of Serbia Nemanja Matić
RW 18 Flag of Argentina Eduardo Salvio
AM 19 Flag of Spain Rodrigo Substituted off in the 66th minute 66'
LW 20 Flag of Argentina Nicolás Gaitán
CF 7 Flag of Paraguay Óscar Cardozo
Substitutes:
GK 13 Flag of Portugal Paulo Lopes
DF 33 Flag of Brazil Jardel Substituted on in the 78th minute 78'
MF 89 Flag of Portugal André Gomes
MF 23 Flag of Uruguay Jonathan Urretaviscaya
MF 10 Flag of Argentina Pablo Aimar
MF 15 Flag of Netherlands Ola John Substituted on in the 66th minute 66'
FW 11 Flag of Brazil Lima Substituted on in the 66th minute 66'
Manager:
Flag of Portugal Jorge Jesus
Benfica vs Chelsea 2013-05-15.svg
GK 1 Flag of Czech Republic Petr Čech
RB 28 Flag of Spain César Azpilicueta
CB 2 Flag of Serbia Branislav Ivanović
CB 24 Flag of England Gary Cahill
LB 3 Flag of England Ashley Cole
CM 8 Flag of England Frank Lampard (c)
CM 4 Flag of Brazil David Luiz
RW 7 Flag of Brazil Ramires
AM 10 Flag of Spain Juan Mata
LW 11 Flag of Brazil Oscar Booked in the 14th minute 14'
CF 9 Flag of Spain Fernando Torres
Substitutes:
GK 22 Flag of England Ross Turnbull
DF 19 Flag of Portugal Paulo Ferreira
MF 12 Flag of Nigeria John Obi Mikel
MF 21 Flag of Germany Marko Marin
MF 30 Flag of Israel Yossi Benayoun
MF 57 Flag of Netherlands Nathan Aké
FW 13 Flag of Nigeria Victor Moses
Manager:
Flag of Spain Rafael Benítez

Man of the Match:
Flag of Serbia Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea)

Assistant referees:
Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)
Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)
Fourth official:
Felix Brych (Germany)
Additional assistant referees:
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)
Richard Liesveld (Netherlands)

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

Statistics[]

First half
Benfica Chelsea
Goals scored 0 0
Total shots 8 3
Shots on target 5 2
Saves 2 5
Ball possession 55% 45%
Corner kicks 1 1
Fouls committed 7 8
Offsides 0 4
Yellow cards 1 1
Red cards 0 0

Second half
Benfica Chelsea
Goals scored 1 2
Total shots 9 8
Shots on target 6 5
Saves 3 5
Ball possession 52% 48%
Corner kicks 3 3
Fouls committed 11 10
Offsides 1 4
Yellow cards 1 0
Red cards 0 0

Overall
Benfica Chelsea
Goals scored 1 2
Total shots 17 11
Shots on target 11 7
Saves 5 10
Ball possession 54% 46%
Corner kicks 4 4
Fouls committed 18 18
Offsides 1 8
Yellow cards 2 1
Red cards 0 0

See also[]

External links[]

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