WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

The Europa League final between Chelsea and Arsenal was a surreal experience to say the least, with the Azerbaijani capital of Baku proving to be almost inaccessible for UK-based fans.

However, with Gulf Air running daily flights to the city, only two hours and 40 minutes away, plus ‘visa on arrival’, it was the opposite for Bahrain-based fans of the Premier League giants.

More than 30 members of the Chelsea FC Official Supporters Club Bahrain secured tickets to the showpiece occasion and made the journey to see their heroes’ triumph 4-1 over London rivals Arsenal and claim the trophy for the second time in six years.

One member, Fawaz AlShaikh, recently underwent surgery and when officials spotted him struggling on crutches, his ticket was upgraded from a neutral seat to the disabled section on pitch level reserved for Chelsea fans.

He said: “It was a great experience and I was happy to be put with Chelsea fans. True, the stand was a fair distance from the pitch and you couldn’t properly see the match like in UK stadiums, but it was well worth it.

“The direct flight got us there in no time and the immigration process was so well-staffed and efficient, with hundreds of taxis available for fans when they touched down. They really went all out to welcome us and make everything run as smoothly as possible.

“In fact, the only slight negatives I experienced was the mandatory 3km walk from the taxi drop off to the stadium entrance – not ideal whilst on crutches – and the fact that there appeared to be only one exit for the 70,000 fans. It was a giant tunnel, but still it was filtered by police and they gradually let fans out. It took us more than an hour to leave.”

The final and its location has been slammed by UK-based media outlets and both sets of home-based fans, and it’s not difficult to see why.

Only a total of about 5,000 UK supporters had followed Chelsea and Arsenal to Azerbaijan, with the Blues sending almost half of their allocation back unsold.

They were deterred by the costs and complications over travel arrangements, and also the fact that it was difficult to access Baku from the UK even if you have both time and money on your hands.

A lack of direct flights led to some inventive and long-winded routes to reach the port on the Caspian Sea. Some had come by plane, some by train and even some by taxi – a 600km trek from Tbilisi in neighbouring Georgia to be exact.

Another major issue was the Olympic Stadium’s running track, covered over for the final, which meant that fans were far away from the action.

Bahraini Mohamed Almoayed has been a Chelsea supporter since 2002 and has followed his team all over the world. He was thrilled at the chance to watch his team in a major final.

 “I got tickets online through online marketplace Viagogo for about BD25 which is incredibly cheap,” he said, “Usually tickets for matches like this go up to the thousands!

“On the one hand, in your seat you don’t feel close to the team and there certainly wasn’t the same atmosphere as Stamford Bridge or Emirates Stadium where you almost feel part of the pitch!

“You couldn’t hear players yelling and with 90 per cent neutrals there were plenty of empty seats and you could hear crickets during the tedious first half. The fans who were there were also pretty tired considering the game started at 11pm to appease European TV audiences.

“However, despite it sounding negative, my experience was almost the exact opposite. It was beyond fantastic to be there, see the players and my team lift the trophy again.

“The fact we beat Arsenal in the final made it even better as I have a number of Arsenal supporters amongst my family and friends.”

“Baku is a beautiful city and I would recommend it to anyone. The people are friendly and it’s clean.”

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.

Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock with a powerful near-post header that zipped past former Chelsea goalkeeper 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 Eden  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.

You have to feel sorry for Arsenal fans, known as Gooners. Although we approached many of those who travelled from Bahrain to comment not one would go on record about the club’s shambolic second half performance. “The only saving grace is that our near-neighbours Spurs lost 2-0 to Liverpool in the Champions League – even if we’d beaten Chelsea I couldn’t have coped with them lifting that trophy,” said one supporter who asked not to be named.

As for Baku, the largely hostile response hosting this final is not going to change the fact that the city has a strong future as a major sporting venue.

Big games are coming back next summer as part of Euro 2020’s sprawl across the continent, with three group games and a quarter-final being held at the Olympic Stadium. And, for fans of European sport in the kingdom, that is brilliant news.