 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2012–13 UEFA Europa League | ||||||
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| Date | 15 May 2013[1] | ||||||
| Venue | Amsterdam Arena,Amsterdam | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea)[2] | ||||||
| Referee | Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)[3] | ||||||
| Attendance | 46,163[4] | ||||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy 13 °C (55 °F) 54% humidity[5] | ||||||
←2012 2014 → | |||||||
The2013 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the2012–13 UEFA Europa League, the 42nd season ofEurope's secondary clubfootball tournament organised byUEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to theUEFA Europa League. The match was played at theAmsterdam Arena inAmsterdam, Netherlands, on 15 May 2013,[6] between Portuguese sideBenfica and English sideChelsea. Chelsea won 2–1 to secure their first title in this competition.[7]
Chelsea were the firstUEFA Champions League title holders to play in the following season's Europa League, after becoming the first Champions League holders to be eliminated in the group stage. With this triumph, they became the only Champions League holders to win the Europa League (no other team did so prior to 2024, when amended regulations meant this was no longer a possibility). Chelsea also became the fourth club, and first in England, towin all three major UEFA club titles at the time, having won theCup Winners' Cup in1971 and1998, and still held the Champions League title won for the first time theprevious year.[8] Chelsea were also the first team sinceManchester United in the1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final to win a major European final without making any substitutions.[9]
As a result of winning this competition, Chelsea secured a place in the2013 UEFA Super Cup against the winners of the2012–13 UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich.
The Amsterdam Arena was announced as the venue of the 2013 UEFA Europa League final on 16 June 2011.[10] The home stadium ofAjax since 1996, it staged the1998 UEFA Champions League final, whereReal Madrid beatJuventus 1–0 for their seventh title, and was also one of theUEFA Euro 2000 venues, hosting five games including a semi-final.[11]
The previous home for Ajax's European matches, theOlympisch Stadion, also played host to European finals. One-legged finals include the1962 European Cup final, where Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5–3, and the1977 European Cup Winners' Cup final, whereAnderlecht were beaten 2–0 byHamburger SV. It also hosted the second legs of the1981 UEFA Cup final, betweenAZ '67 andIpswich Town, and of the1992 UEFA Cup final, between Ajax andTorino.[12]
Benfica qualified for their ninth European final, the first in 23 years since their 1–0 loss toA.C. Milan in the1990 European Cup final. Previous appearances include back-to-back victories in the1961 and 1962 European Cup finals (3–2 overBarcelona and 5–3 over Real Madrid, respectively) and unsuccessful presences in five other European Cup finals –1963 (1–2 to Milan),1965 (0–1 toInter Milan),1968 (1–4 toManchester United),1988 (0–0, 5–6 on penalties toPSV Eindhoven) and 1990 (0–1 to Milan) – and one UEFA Cup final in1983 (1–2 on aggregate to Anderlecht).[13]
Before this season, Chelsea had never reached a final of the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League. They previously appeared in twoUEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in1971 (2–1 win over Real Madrid) and1998 (1–0 win overVfB Stuttgart), and twoUEFA Champions League finals in2008 (1–1, lost 5–6 on penalties to Manchester United) and2012 (1–1, won 4–3 on penalties overBayern Munich).[14]
The only previous meeting between Benfica and Chelsea in European competition was in the2011–12 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, which the English won 3–1 on aggregate (1–0 in Lisbon and 2–1 in London) en route to the title.[15] Both Benfica and Chelsea finished third in the2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage, and entered the 2012–13 Europa League in the round of 32.[16] It was the fourth time in the tournament's history that both finalists featured in the Champions League group stage earlier in the season, after2000,2002 and2009.
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.
 Benfica | Round |  Chelsea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Champions League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Celtic | 0–0 (A) | Matchday 1 |  Juventus | 2–2 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Barcelona | 0–2 (H) | Matchday 2 |  Nordsjælland | 4–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Spartak Moscow | 1–2 (A) | Matchday 3 |  Shakhtar Donetsk | 1–2 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spartak Moscow | 2–0 (H) | Matchday 4 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3–2 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Celtic | 2–1 (H) | Matchday 5 | Juventus | 0–3 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barcelona | 0–0 (A) | Matchday 6 | Nordsjælland | 6–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group G third place
Source:Soccerway | Final standings | Group E third place
Source:Soccerway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Europa League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Bayer Leverkusen | 3–1 | 1–0 (A) | 2–1 (H) | Round of 32 |  Sparta Prague | 2–1 | 1–0 (A) | 1–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Bordeaux | 4–2 | 1–0 (H) | 3–2 (A) | Round of 16 |  Steaua București | 3–2 | 0–1 (A) | 3–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Newcastle United | 4–2 | 3–1 (H) | 1–1 (A) | Quarter-finals | Rubin Kazan | 5–4 | 3–1 (H) | 2–3 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Fenerbahçe | 3–2 | 0–1 (A) | 3–1 (H) | Semi-finals |  Basel | 5–2 | 2–1 (A) | 3–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former Dutch internationalPatrick Kluivert, who won theUEFA Champions League withAjax, was appointed as the official ambassador for the final.[17]
On 13 May 2013, DutchrefereeBjörn Kuipers was appointed to the final. He was joined by fellow Dutch officials Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra asassistant referees,Pol van Boekel and Richard Liesveld asadditional assistant referees, Berry Simons asreserve assistant referee, and German officialFelix Brych asfourth official.[3]
The international ticket sales phase for the general public ran from 3 December 2012 to 18 January 2013. Tickets were available in four price categories:€135, €100, €70, and €45.[18] Each finalist club was allocated 9,800 tickets.[19]
Chelsea'sEden Hazard was ruled out of the final after not recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in Chelsea's 2–1Premier League victory againstAston Villa on 11 May.[20] Chelsea captain and centre-back John Terry was also absent through injury.Three players faced their former clubs: Benfica'sNemanja Matić, who was transferred from Chelsea, and Chelsea'sDavid Luiz andRamires, who were transferred from Benfica.[21]
Fernando Torres put Chelsea ahead in the 60th minute by rounding the goalkeeper and clipping in after being put clean in on goal byJuan Mata.Óscar Cardozo equalised with a penalty eight minutes later awarded afterEduardo Salvio's header struckCésar Azpilicueta's hand.Branislav Ivanović scored in the final minute of stoppage time with a header into the far corner from a Mata corner from the right to clinch a 2–1 win for Chelsea and with it their first Europa League title.[7]
          Benfica[5] |      Chelsea[5] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[3] | Match rules[22]
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