Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley is happy that his club claimed the Europa League. The Blues thrashed Arsenal 4-1 during the final of Europe’s second-tier club competition in Baku last Wednesday, with the goals coming from an Eden Hazard brace as well as Olivier Giroud and Pedro.
The result meant that Maurizio Sarri ended his first season at the helm of the club with something to smile about. The West London club ended the season with a top four finish as well as the Europa League. The Cup victory means that they have now claimed a trophy during the past three consecutive seasons. They claimed the FA Cup last season and the Premier League title during the 2016/17 campaign.
The trophy was the second major honour of Barkley’s career after joining the club from Everton in January 2018. It was, however, the first tournament which the club won in which he had played a major role. He did not contribute much to the FA Cup win last term and was an unused substitute during the final against Manchester United.
Barkley is likely to be a key player for the Blues next season and he will be hoping that the Europa League is the second of many trophies to come for the club.
Barkley told chelseafc.com: “It feels great.
“We’ve worked hard for it all season and the game went perfectly for us. Days like this are why I came to this club because these are memories made for life and hopefully there are many more to come.
“To be part of a final is special, whether you start or come off the bench, so you just have to do what you can to help win the game. When I came on, it was already 4-1 so we knew we just had to see the game out.
“You have to prepare for every game as if you’re starting but N’Golo was unbelievable for us. When he picked up the injury in training it looked serious so for him to play 90 minutes in a final is just incredible. As a team, we played a brilliant game and came away with what we wanted, which was the trophy.”
