Chelsea manger Rafa Benitez named Premier League Manager of the month for April.

Rafa Benitez the current Chelsea manager has been named Premier League manger of the month after guiding Chelsea into the finals of the Europa League with a 3-1 home leg victory over Basel.

Throughout April Chelsea held a record of seven victories in nine games across all Premier League and cup competitions.

They knocked recently crowned Premier League champions Manchester United out of the FA Cup at the start of April followed up by a 3-1 win over Rubin to reach the semi-final of the Europa League.

Victories over Sunderland, Fulham and Swansea in the Premier League with seven goals scored over the three games leaving Chelsea third in the league and trying to secure a coveted Champions League place. Rafa Benitez is the first Chelsea manger to win this accolade since Carlo Ancelotti in April 2011. Chelsea under Rafa Benitez remain unbeaten in the Premier League throughout April.

"Always is important to win any trophy, but, when you talk about the Barclays Premier League Manager of the month, it means that your team has won a lot of games and I would like to thank all my staff for the great job done 'behind the scenes' and of course the players that have done the job on the pitch. Thanks to all of them."