Lampard, 41, will not be at training on Monday or Tuesday as he continues talks with his former club.

A statement said the decision has been made to allow the move to be “concluded as soon as possible”.

Derby said they will now step up “efforts to find a replacement”.

Rams assistant manager Jody Morris will also be absent from training.

It is widely assumed Morris will move to Chelsea with Lampard, should the former England midfielder be given the manager’s job.

Derby’s players will largely be doing fitness tests over the next couple of days, so the club feel they can operate without anyone in overall charge.

The squad are due to fly to Florida for a training camp on Thursday.

A statement released on Monday said: “The first few days of pre-season training will be focused on fitness training and will continue as planned under the guidance of the fitness, medical, conditioning and sports science teams at the club’s Training Centre.”

Ex-Chelsea captain John Terry said there is “no one better equipped” to manage the club than his former team-mate.

Rams boss Lampard has been given permission to talk to the club where he spent 13 years a player after speculation he will take over from Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard made 648 appearances at Chelsea, winning 11 major trophies with them, since joining from boyhood club West Ham for a fee of £11m in 2001.

Source: BBC

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Victory gave Blues boss Maurizio Sarri the first trophy of his managerial career and ensured the Gunners will miss out on next season’s Champions League.

With only about 5,000 fans from both sides able to make it to Azerbaijan, there was an eerie atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, which appeared less than half full.

That was the surreal setting for a match played 2,500 miles away from both teams’ home, and the game itself was devoid of action before the break before bursting into life early in the second half.

Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock when he met Emerson’s clipped cross with a powerful near-post header that zipped past Petr Cech.

Cech, also facing his old side and playing the final match of his career, could do nothing about Chelsea’s second goal either, with Pedro sweeping home a Hazard cross.

Hazard made it 3-0 from the penalty spot soon after, sending Cech the wrong way after Ainsley Maitland-Niles fouled Giroud.

Substitute Alex Iwobi briefly gave Arsenal hope with a powerful first-time strike moments after coming on.

But Hazard quickly made sure of victory, playing a one-two with Giroud and firing home Chelsea’s fourth goal.

The Belgium forward said after the game it was likely to be his Chelsea “goodbye” as he continues to be linked to Real Madrid.

Hazard says goodbye with sparkling display

Chelsea’s triumph brought them their fifth European title, and their first since they won the Europa League in Amsterdam in 2013.

An emotional Sarri celebrated with his players on the pitch, but his future remains in doubt despite ending his first season at Stamford Bridge on a successful note.

Hazard’s departure appears rather more certain, and his performance ensured this game will be at least partly remembered for footballing reasons, after being overshadowed beforehand by politics, plus travel and ticketing issues.

The Chelsea fans who did make it to the game – via train, plane and even taxis – were rewarded by a typically effervescent display from a player who has sparkled for them over the past seven years.

Giroud deserves credit too, particularly for his finish for the opening goal that led to Arsenal’s collapse.

But it was Hazard who made the difference, as so often this season and in previous years.

If he does go, the question is who will replace him?

Cech signs off with painful defeat

While Sarri was able to end his troubled first season with a smile, Arsenal counterpart Unai Emery had to watch in horror as his hopes of leading his side back into the Champions League after a two-year absence disappeared in the space of 16 second-half minutes.

That was how long it took Chelsea to build an unassailable three-goal lead thanks to the kind of Arsenal defensive collapse that has been all too familiar this season.

Emery won this competition three times with Sevilla but this defeat is particularly painful as it will almost certainly significantly affect his summer spending.

The Gunners will be back in the Europa League again next season, but they will be without veteran goalkeeper Cech, who is set to retire at the age of 37.

This was not the fairytale ending his glittering career arguably deserved, but Arsenal’s capitulation was nothing to do with him.

There was little he could do with any of Chelsea’s goals from open play, let alone the penalty, and he actually helped to limit any further damage with some impressive late saves.

Man of the match – Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Match stats – Giroud & Pedro join elite clubs

• Chelsea won their fifth major Uefa European competition final, with only Liverpool winning more among English clubs (eight).
• Arsenal conceded four goals in a European match for the first time since a 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich in March 2017 and were the first team to do so in a Uefa Cup/Europa League final since Middlesbrough lost 4-0 to Sevilla in 2006.
• Chelsea became the first team to win a major European title without losing a game (W12 D3) since Manchester United in the 2007-08 Champions League.
• Arsenal have now lost five of their six major Uefa finals, including their last four in a row (1995 Cup Winners’ Cup, 2000 Uefa Cup, 2006 Champions League, 2019 Europa League).
• Chelsea won 12 Europa League matches during 2018-19. Only one team have won more matches in a major Uefa European competition in one season (Atletico Madrid in 2011-12, 13 wins).
• Olivier Giroud became the first player to score 11 goals in major European competition for an English club since Alan Shearer in 2004-05 for Newcastle United.
• It is a record by a French player in a single European season, breaking the record held by Nestor Combin in 1963-64 (Cup Winners’ Cup) and Just Fontaine in 1958-59 (European Cup).
• Chelsea’s Pedro became the fifth player to score in a European Cup/Champions League and Uefa Cup/Europa League final, after Allan Simonsen, Dmitri Alenichev, Hernan Crespo and Steven Gerrard.
• In his final match, Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech conceded four goals in a match for only the third time in major European competition.
• Chelsea’s starting XI featured no Englishmen, the first time a team had started a major European final without a player from their home nation in their starting line-up since Inter Milan against Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions League final.
• Eden Hazard scored twice for Chelsea, becoming the first player to do so in the final of a major Uefa competition for an English club since Mark Hughes for Manchester United against Barcelona in the 1991 Cup Winners’ Cup.

Source: BBC Sports

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It was made by Lacazette’s leap to head the ball to his mate and finished with Aubameyang’s acrobatic flick. It resonated to see them marching to the Europa League final together, because last season, to Arsenal’s frustration, that was impossible.

During the semi-final last May, which Arsenal lost narrowly against Atlético Madrid, Lacazette shouldered the burden on his own while Aubameyang kicked his heels in frustration at home. The Gabon striker was in the bizarre position of being forbidden from playing in Europe. A quirk in Uefa regulations meant Arsenal’s record signing was cup-tied even though he had been playing for Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League before his transfer in January 2018. At the time Arsène Wenger complained that the rule was archaic. It has since been abolished.

And then there were two. It is their obvious preference to play in tandem and they are eager to make up for the annoyance of last season’s restrictions. “It’s different because we have Auba,” says Lacazette about this European campaign. “Auba is a really good striker and the defenders find it difficult to take care of him.” Defenders certainly have more to think about when playing Arsenal now. Exhibit A: Valencia were punished by the pair seven times as they ran amok, happily setting up each other where possible. Their display had the stamp of Champions League quality so it is little wonder they are so keen to get back there.

It felt like a defining moment for a team trying to find a new path under Unai Emery. All season he has talked about the challenge of finding balance, of creating just the right temperature to keep defence and attack boiling nicely at the same time. That has been easier said than done but the bar has been set in the Europa League knockout rounds. It took a few months of experimenting for Emery to realise that whatever he does he really has to start with his strikers and work it out from there. Chelsea know their biggest problem is two-pronged.

“Playing with Auba is always a pleasure for me,” Lacazette says. “We work a lot in training to be quicker and have a good relationship.” They play with an obvious rapport but Lacazette is quick to point out there is the odd glitch. “Sometimes it is wrong!” he says, laughing. “Sometimes he goes left and I put the ball right. But normally we work a lot to be on the same wavelength. We want to be as perfect as possible.”

Although it would be natural to have some competition in the search for goals, there is no edge if one scores more than the other. “I am not jealous of anyone,” Lacazette says. “I just want to win trophies; Auba as well. It is always better to play together but when one plays and the other stays on the bench you just have to help the team when you can.”

For players of their quality, they have not won many trophies. Aubameyang has one League Cup from his time in France and one German Cup. Lacazette has one French Cup seven years ago. He is also overlooked by Didier Deschamps for the France team, which hurts. What more does he have to do than score regularly in the Premier League and Europe? “Maybe I need to score 30 or 40 goals, I don’t know.”

Aubameyang is the senior man on the goals chart this season with 31 goals and eight assists, and a share of the Premier League golden boot. He is in exalted company in having scored more than 25 goals in each of the last five seasons – only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suárez, Robert Lewandowski and Sergio Agüero have achieved that level of consistent threat. Lacazette’s 19 goals and 13 assists demonstrate how his talent goes beyond the predatory.

Their differing characteristics complement each other. Lacazette was named Arsenal’s player of the season in recognition of his relentless work, his capacity to track back, hassle defenders and start attacks. Aubameyang is more of a flashes player, who can appear to drift before suddenly scoring.

Arsenal, for all their trust in the attacking duo, could not be happier that Danny Welbeck has made it back from serious injury to be available from the bench as another option to take the game to Chelsea.

Lacazette celebrated his 28th birthday on the eve of the final in Baku. Aubameyang is 29. They are at peak age but winning trophies and returning to the Champions League, feels urgent. Lacazette makes that plain: “We just have to win the final.”

Source: theguardian.com

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Hazard, who could have played his final game for the Blues at Stamford Bridge, converted after Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had saved from both Martin Hinteregger and Goncalo Paciencia.

Chelsea will now meet Arsenal in the final in Baku on 29 May and the result means both the Champions League and Europa League final will be played between English clubs this season – the first time all four finalists in Europe’s top two competitions have come from one nation.

With the score 1-1 after the first leg, Chelsea took the lead in the second when Ruben Loftus-Cheek coolly stroked into the far corner in the 28th minute, but the night was far from straight-forward.

Frankfurt levelled the tie four minutes after half-time when Luka Jovic slotted past Arrizabalaga after being played in by Mijat Gacinovic.

Jovic’s goal punished Chelsea for a sloppy start to the second half and the Blues continued to be wasteful as Stamford Bridge became increasingly restless.

In extra time the Germans twice had efforts cleared off the line with David Luiz first denying Sebastian Haller and then Davide Zappacosta clearing Haller again at a corner.

Chelsea thought they had won it late in extra time but Cesar Azpilicueta, who later missed first in the penalty shootout, had a goal ruled out when the referee deemed he had bundled the ball out of Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp’s hands.

Redemption for Arrizabalaga and Hazard’s perfect farewell?

The shootout was Chelsea’s first since they lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City on penalties in February.

That game was overshadowed by Arrizabalaga’s refusal to be substituted – manager Maurizio Sarri wanted to bring on substitute goalkeeper Willy Caballero for the shootout – but at Stamford Bridge the Spaniard proved to be the hero.

After Azpilicueta missed first, Arrizabalaga remarkably kept out Eintracht’s fourth penalty by trapping the ball under his shin as he stood still when Hinteregger went for power and then dived low to his right to palm away the visitors’ fifth.

That left Hazard with the opportunity to complete the win and the Belgian delivered – sending Trapp the wrong way, tucking the ball into the corner.

Hazard has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer and if he does depart the game will be his final at Stamford Bridge after seven years at the club.

There were no waves to the crowd or clear indications he will leave in the summer and when asked whether the final would be his last game for the club he said “in my mind I do not know yet”.

If he does leave in the summer it would be a fitting way for him to finish in west London.

Sarri to end difficult season on a high?

The win also means Chelsea have a final chance to earn silverware in Sarri’s first season in charge.

Like the campaign as a whole, the night was far from smooth for the Italian and had difficult moments.

He become increasingly frantic on the touchline as his side lost control of the game in the second half and his decision to remove goal scorer Loftus-Cheek when bringing on Ross Barkley late on was loudly booed by the Chelsea fans.

But for all of the season’s problems, including the Arrizabalaga affair and protests from fans against his style of play, Chelsea are quietly achieving their pre-season aims at the end of the season.

Last weekend they secured a top four finish and Champions League qualification through their league position and are now into their first European final since winning the Europa League in 2013.

Result harsh on impressive Eintracht

Had either of their efforts cleared off the line in extra time gone in, it would have been hard to argue Eintracht Frankfurt were not worthy finalists.

Over the two legs the German side, fancied by few at the start of the competition, had opportunities to seal a first European final since 1980.

Rather than sitting back after Jovic’s equaliser – the highly sought after 21-year-old’s 10th Europa League goal of the season – they continued to attack Chelsea in the second half and the tension around Stamford Bridge was clear.

Substitute Haller should have scored his first chance in extra time but failed to make proper contact with his volley, kicking the ball into the ground with his studs rather than side-footing into the net, and that allowed Luiz to clear.

The visitors were roared on by their vocal travelling support, some of whom were in tears at the end of the penalty shootout.

Despite the disappointment those fans chanted in support of their team long after the final whistle as the players and backroom staff emotionally came together and linked arms in front of the away end.

Man of the match – Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)

Chelsea’ home shootout run – the best stats

• Chelsea have won each of their last four penalty shootouts at Stamford Bridge, with this their first in European competition at home.
• This is the first time that all four places in the Champions League/European Cup and Europa League/UEFA Cup finals will be filled by one country.
• Chelsea have reached their first major European final since the 2013 Europa League, when they beat Benfica 2-1 under manager Rafael Benitez.
• Chelsea have never lost a home game against German opponents in all competitions (W7 D3).
• Eintracht Frankfurt have only lost one of their last nine away Europa League games (W5 D3). The German side have scored in all seven of their games on the road in the competition this season.
• Luka Jovic has scored 10 goals in the Europa League this season; no player has netted more (level with Olivier Giroud).
• Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has had a hand in 24 goals in 26 appearances at Stamford Bridge in 2018-19 (13 goals, 11 assists).
• Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been directly involved in nine goals in his last 14 appearances for Chelsea (4 goals, 5 assists); as many as in his previous 45 games for the Blues.

‘We got into trouble’ – Sarri reaction

Speaking to BT Sport, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri said: “I think we played a very good first half and then we got into trouble after the break. We conceded a goal in 10 minutes of panic.

“We were better in the last part of the match but we were tired in extra time and it was difficult.

“We started with three injuries and picked up two more during the match after we lost Andreas Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, so it wasn’t easy but we are now in the final.”

Source: BBC Sports

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