Chelsea ended the 2018/19 season in style, thrashing London rivals Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final.
In the build-up to the game, though, everything was pointing towards a very different outcome. Arsenal had utterly outclassed Chelsea the last time the two teams met, beating them 2-0 at the Emirates.
With the Blues having already qualified for the Champions League after finishing third in the Premier League, the Gunners also needed to win the match more than their opponents. It was now their only avenue into Europe’s elite competition.
And on the eve of the final, Maurizio Sarri, who was managing Chelsea at the time, absolutely lost it during one training session while all of the cameras were on him.
Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images
In Chelsea’s final training session before their Europa League final against Arsenal, Sarri stormed off the pitch, throwing and kicking his cap around as he headed down the tunnel.
The Italian was not a happy bunny, and while it was initially thought that his frustration was down to an altercation between David Luiz and Gonzalo Higuain, that was not the story Chelsea put out.
As per The Guardian, a spokesman for the Blues said: “Maurizio’s frustration displayed at the end of training was not related to any of his players, but was due to not being able to practise set-plays in the final 15 minutes of the hour-long training session as it remained open to media.”
Sarri later confirmed that his unhappiness was indeed due to his team not being able to practise set-pieces in private.
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“I was disappointed because we wanted to try our solutions on set-pieces, but after 50 minutes of training the cameras were there and so we were disappointed for the situation, not for the players,” the 66-year-old explained.
“I think that you were not able to understand yesterday. Because if my players are very aggressive in training, I am happy — not disappointed.”
"If my players are aggressive in training, I am happy!"
"I was disappointed because we wanted to practice set pieces, but the cameras were there!" 😡
Maurizio Sarri explains EXACTLY why he was so wound up last night… pic.twitter.com/3WoXF1OmGc
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 29, 2019
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UEFA regulations meant the media were allowed to watch the training session, which left Sarri irritated.
It has been almost six years since the eventful final between Chelsea and Arsenal, and the former have another Italian manager at the helm, Enzo Maresca. Sarri is a big fan of Maresca, believing he can go far in the game.
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
One of the most satisfying victories in Chelsea’s history
Chelsea fans would not have wanted to be in the Europa League that season, but they will be glad that they were. That win might just be the most enjoyable in the club’s entire history.
Again, going into the game, the Blues had a lot of doubters and there was so much chaos surrounding them.
Sarri’s future was uncertain and then he was seen storming out of his team’s final training session.
Yet Chelsea were still able to beat their London rivals convincingly, deny them of a place among Europe’s elite and most importantly, win another European trophy.
Sarri did not get everything right at Chelsea. The signing of Higuain flopped, for example. But he gave the club one of the greatest nights in its history.