Chelsea won the 2018/29 Europa League, beating rivals Arsenal in the final by four goals to one. As a result, that performance has seen two players, who were present that night be nominated for the UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award.
Real Madrid duo Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic have been nominated for the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award. Jovic, then at Eintracht Frankfurt and Hazard, then at Chelsea, have both since joined Los Blancos.
Meanwhile, Hazard’s ex-Chelsea teammate Olivier Giroud has also been nominated for the same award. Giroud finished the competition as the top scorer by one goal, which he netted in the final against his former club Arsenal.
The Frenchman’s eleven goals were almost matched by Jovic, who scored ten. Although had the two forwards finished with the same number of goals, Giroud would have won the Golden Boot nonetheless due to more assists.
The surprise package here is Eden Hazard. The Belgian forward was scarcely used in the competition by Maurizio Sarri, who instead chose to deploy either Pedro or Callum Hudson-Odoi in his place. As a result, Hazard made six fewer appearances than Giroud and Jovic and contributed with just four goals (two goals and two assists).
However, three out of those four goals came in the final, with the Belgium skipper scoring twice and assisting Pedro in a four-one rout of Arsenal. Hazard was subsequently named man of the match for the final and now finds himself vying for the player of the tournament award.
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