Chelsea seal place in Europa League final

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Chelsea 3 Basel 1 (Chelsea win 5-2 on aggregate)

David Luiz’s terrific strike capped a fine Chelsea victory which sealed their place in the Europa League final.

Leading 2-1 from the first leg, they were dealt a blow by Mohamed Salah’s goal for Basel seconds before the break.

But the Blues, who will face Luiz’s former club Benfica in the final in Amsterdam, hit back with two goals in the space of two-and-a-half minutes early in the second half, Fernando Torres levelling on the night before Victor Moses finished from close range.

And Luiz rubber-stamped Chelsea’s triumph with a fantastic left-footed effort from 30 yards.

It was a resounding win but could have been even more comfortable had Frank Lampard managed to score early on and in the process equal Bobby Tambling’s club scoring record.

Fernando Torres of Chelsea
Torres scored Chelsea’s first.

Lampard was unfortunate to see his first-time effort come back off the post after he had been picked out by Torres.

Eden Hazard then glided into the area and cleverly flicked the ball off to Moses, who teed up Ramires only for the Brazilian to shoot tamely at Basel keeper Yann Sommer.

The Swiss side had their moments though and went close to scoring when Marco Streller sent a stunning volley narrowly wide.

And they halved Chelsea’s aggregate lead when Salah finished well after latching onto Valentin Stocker’s pass.

But Torres’ fifth goal in eight matches and his 20th of the season settled the home team’s nerves.

Hazard was the orchestrator, causing panic in the Basel box before Lampard’s shot was parried by Sommer, with Torres on hand to tuck away the loose ball.

Once Moses netted after Torres’ shot ricocheted into his path, Chelsea looked home and dry even before Luiz’s cracker.

Basel were well beaten but battled on and their substitute Fabian Frei was unlucky his 25-yard effort hit the bar.

Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Bertrand, Lampard, Luiz (Ake 82), Ramires (Oscar 66), Hazard (Mata 74), Moses, Torres.
Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Terry, Benayoun.

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