Rafael Benitez made rare decision when managing Chelsea in Europa League final, John Obi Mikel suffered as a result

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Rafael Benitez proved to not be the most popular manager at Chelsea as far as supporters and players were concerned.

Some sections of the Stamford Bridge fanbase could not get over the fact that Benitez had been in charge of Liverpool during a period of time where the two clubs were fierce rivals both in England and in Europe.

John Terry admitted he didn’t get on with Benitez, with the club legend thinking he was actually a hiring made by Roman Abramovich to shake things up with the established players.

Terry was unavailable for the Spaniard’s biggest match in charge of Chelsea, when he led the side into the Europa League final to take on Benfica.

The Blues defending their Champions League crown had not gone as planned, however they had a chance at another European crown in Amsterdam.

Rafael Benitez made zero subs in Chelsea’s Europa League final win

They won 2-1, after Branislav Ivanovic’s last minute winner and Fernando Torres‘ fine opening goal saw them finish another campaign with a trophy.

It was notable that Benitez named a strong starting side that included Frank Lampard, Juan Mata and Petr Cech, with there plenty of talent on the bench too.

However, the manager didn’t make a single sub during the 90 minute game, despite there being sections of the game while their opponents were on top.

Despite no actual substitutions, Benitez certainly made some alterations which his players believe were the reason they won the cup.

Mata stated that far-post corners were the idea of the manager, with Ivanovic’s winner coming from that exact style of set-piece.

Who was on the bench for Chelsea in 2013 Europa League final?

There were a number of talented players making up the bench for Chelsea’s first ever Europa League final, however they didn’t get the opportunity to feature.

John Obi Mikel had been key in the Champions League final 12 months earlier, however was replaced by David Luiz in defensive midfield for this game.

Long-term servent Paulo Ferreira was on the bench for the final time before his exit from the club, alongside Ross Turnbull and Marko Marin.

Victor Moses, Yossi Benayoun and Nathan Ake made up the final spots amongst the substitutes, with it being a number of seasons until Moses would play his best stuff for Chelsea under Antonio Conte.