Ivanovic Goal Wins Europa for Chelsea

  

A 93rd-minute header from Branislav Ivanovic gave Chelsea a stunning 2-1 victory over Benfica in the Europa League final on Wednesday as the London club claimed the trophy for the first time in heart-stopping fashion.

The game in Amsterdam seemed destined for extra time after Fernando Torres' superb 60th-minute opener for Chelsea was cancelled out by an Oscar Cardozo penalty, only for Ivanovic to net a dramatic winner with a looping header in stoppage time.
Club captain John Terry sat the game out with an ankle injury, but just as he had done after last season's Champions League final, which he missed through suspension, he donned his full kit to lift the trophy alongside fellow Chelsea stalwart Frank Lampard.
"It's a great feeling," said Ivanovic. "This team deserved this, because we have had a very difficult season and a lot of games."


Victory made Chelsea the first team to simultaneously hold the Champions League and Europa League titles, although they will relinquish their Champions League crown in 10 days.
More lasting is the statistic that they are only the fourth club to have claimed Europe's three major trophies – including the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup – after Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus.
Chelsea's interim manager Rafael Benitez, meanwhile, joins Giovanni Trapattoni as one of only two coaches to have won the trophy with two different clubs, following his 2004 success with Valencia.

"That was a great performance in the second half, against a very good team," said the Spaniard, who has already fulfilled his primary objective of qualifying the club for next season's Champions League, despite lingering opposition from fans.
"The players have worked so hard, all season. I am proud – it was not easy. I'm really pleased, really proud."