Column: Europe's club football finals - thoroughly (un)English affairs

28 May 2019 8:00 AM

Arsenal v Chelsea — Photo: Getty Images A billboard for the UEFA Europa League Final 2019 between Chelsea and Arsenal in Baku. Columnist Simon Chadwick and Paul Widdop calls the all-English European finals an un-English affair.

Professor Simon Chadwick and Dr Paul Widdop look in this column at the upcoming all-English European finals.

The most un-English of English matches: “The finals will be played in English name only,” they write.

Professor Simon Chadwick and Dr Paul Widdop contact@offthepitch.com

When Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura slotted in a last-minute winning goal against Ajax in his club’s recent UEFA Champions League semi-final, it was the second time in the competition that a miraculous comeback had been achieved. Twenty four hours earlier, Liverpool had beaten Barcelona in the other semi-final to set up the prospect of an all-English final.

The next day, Arsenal comfortably defeated Valencia, and Chelsea contributed to the week’s dramatic narrative by beating Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties in their two UEFA Europa League semi-finals.