BAKU, Azerbaijan — Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea sliced through Arsenal in the second half of the Europa League final Wednesday, totaling four goals in 23 minutes to win 4-1 in a game between London teams played far from home.

Hazard then confirmed he’s likely to leave this summer, amid speculation about a move to Real Madrid.

“I think it is a goodbye but in football you never know,” Hazard told British broadcaster BT Sport. “My dream was to play in the Premier League. I did this for seven years for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Maybe it’s time for a new challenge.”

After a drab first half, Chelsea took control in the 49th minute when Olivier Giroud met Emerson’s pass with a diving header into the net. It was Giroud’s 11th goal in 14 games in the Europa League, but he barely celebrated against his old team.

“These two clubs changed my life,” Giroud said. “They gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier League. I didn’t want to celebrate against Arsenal, but I am so proud to win this trophy with Chelsea.”

Pedro doubled the lead in the 60th. It was soon 3-0 after Hazard converted a penalty.

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Two minutes after coming off the bench, Alex Iwobi punished Chelsea for a poor clearance with a volley from the edge of the box to make it 3-1 in the 69th minute. But Arsenal’s hopes of a comeback were extinguished three minutes later when Hazard and Giroud teamed up again. Hazard first passed the ball to Giroud, then knocked his flicked cross past Petr Cech, the veteran goalkeeper who was playing his final game before retiring.

It was the first trophy for Chelsea Coach Maurizio Sarri, who didn’t rule out leaving the club when asked about the vacant Juventus job. He said he wanted to meet with the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich.

“We need to know what the club can do for me, what I can do better,” said Sarri. “I need to speak, but I also think the club needs to speak with me.”

UEFA, THE European soccer governing body, wants doctors to have more time to assess head injuries so concussed players aren’t put back onto the field.

The group’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, said there could be a change to the rules on substitutes. But he didn’t say whether that could mean temporary replacements for players with head injuries – something the world governing body, FIFA, has resisted.

“The health of players is of utmost importance and I strongly believe that the current regulations on concussion need updating to protect both the players and the doctors and to ensure appropriate diagnosis can be made without disadvantaging the teams affected,” he said.

Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius played last year’s Champions League final after sustaining a concussion early in the second half, and made key errors that helped Real Madrid win, 3-1.


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