SM
Spurs vs. Man City: 1 hr 30 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
B
- | -
May 15, 2013 at 7.45pm UK
 
CL

1-2

Chelsea crowned Europa League champions

:Headline: Result: Chelsea crowned Europa League champions: ID:84567: from db_amp
An injury-time goal from Branislav Ivanovic sees Chelsea beat Benfica 2-1 in Amsterdam to win the Europa League.

An injury-time goal from Branislav Ivanovic has seen Chelsea crowned Europa League champions with a 2-1 win over Benfica in Amsterdam.

The Serbian defender found the net from a corner with two minutes left on the clock to give the Blues a second European triumph in two years following last season's Champions League success.

The Portuguese side dominated much of the opening 45 minutes, refusing to allow Chelsea on the ball while creating plenty of chances in front of goal.

Oscar Cardozo put an early header over the crossbar before Nicolas Gaitan flashed his shot high and wide. Rodrigo then fluffed his lines from close range by slipping on the slick playing surface as Benfica overwhelmed their opponents in all areas of the pitch.

Chelsea showed some signs of life midway through the half and they managed their first attempt on goal with 28 minutes played as Oscar's long-range effort was held at the second attempt by goalkeeper Artur.

Despite struggling to get into the match, a final opportunity of the half fell the way of Chelsea as Frank Lampard's swerving drive was tipped over the crossbar by Artur.

Benfica started the second half where they left off in the first and they had a goal disallowed on 52 minutes when Cardozo was ruled offside by the narrowest of margins when he headed in Gaitan's cross.

The deadlock was broken against the run of play on the hour as Fernando Torres burst past Luisao before rounding Artur to slot into an empty net.

However, the Portuguese side were level from the penalty spot seven minutes later through Cardozo following Cesar Azpilicueta's handball.

Chelsea were appealing for a penalty of their own on 76 minutes when Torres was brought down by Luisao, but the referee waved away the appeals.

As the match became more stretched late on, Cardozo came close to putting Benfica ahead with nine minutes of normal time left, but his looping volley was kept out by the attentive Cech.

The game looked to be heading for extra time before Ivanovic got on the end of Juan Mata's corner to see his header back across goal to find the net.

amp_article__84567 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2013-05-16 10:26:38:
html db last update - 2021-03-11 11:22:14 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal37275589286186
2Manchester CityMan City36267391335885
3Liverpool372310484414379
4Aston Villa37208976562068
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs361961171591263
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle361761379572257
7Chelsea361691173611257
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd36166145256-454
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham371410135971-1252
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton361212125458-448
11Bournemouth37139155365-1248
12Crystal Palace371210155258-646
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves37137175063-1346
14Fulham37128175159-844
15Everton37139153949-1040
16Brentford37109185461-739
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3789204766-1929
18Luton TownLuton3768235081-3126
RBurnley3759234076-3624
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd37372735101-6616
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .