2:05 a.m. May 3, Chelsea – FC Basel: Amsterdam is very close!
With a 2-1 away win, Chelsea's chances of reaching the final are wide open.
Welcoming the Swiss representative in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea was very confident knowing that Basel had not won away from home in the Europa League this season. Just a draw or even a 0-1 loss could see Chelsea enter the final, a simple task and within the reach of Benitez and his team.
Currently, in the domestic tournament, Chelsea is firmly in the top 4 and that is acceptable at this time. In that situation, winning the Europa League is the top goal. If Chelsea wins this cup, they will become the 4th team in Europe to win all 3 cups including Champions League, Europa League and Cup C2 (old).
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The absence of Ashley Cole is probably not too big a problem for Benitez. |
In tonight's match, Chelsea will not have the service of left-back Ashley Cole due to having received enough cards, replaced by young defender Bertrand. Demba Ba will also not be able to participate in the Europa League due to playing for Newcastle in this arena. In addition, Romeu and Marin will not be able to participate due to injury.
Those absences are considered to have absolutely no impact on Chelsea's progress. They have one more thing to be confident about before this match: since April 2011 (exactly 2 years), Chelsea has not lost at home.
Facing such favorable conditions, coach Benitez still showed caution. Speaking at the press conference before the match, the Spanish strategist said that Chelsea needed to score more goals, he also recalled how FC Basel eliminated Tottenham and told his players not to be subjective before this match.
Coach Benitez's caution is necessary, but with the current balance of power and situation of each team, perhaps the Europa League final ticket at Amsterdam Arena is very close to Chelsea.
In the other semi-final match tonight, Benfica will host Turkish representative Fernebahce at home in Lisbon. In the first leg, Korkmaz scored the only goal to give Fernebahce the advantage./.
According to VOV - DT
