Chelsea 4-3 (agg 5-3) Slavia Prague: Maurizio Sarri bemoans his side’s start to the second-half as Blues labour to Europa League semi-finals

Chelsea 4-3 (agg 5-3) Slavia Prague: Maurizio Sarri bemoans his side’s start to the second-half as Blues labour to Europa League semi-finals
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri admitted his players made life difficult for themselves following their Europa League quarter-final triumph over Slavia Prague.The Blues won 4-3 at Stamford Bridge, going through 5-3 on aggregate in a contest that saw Sarri’s men race to a 3-0 lead after just 15 minutes.3

It was set to be a rout when Giroud’s finish put the Chelsea 3-0 up

But Chelsea have developed a nasty habit of conceding early in the second half and once again there were some hairy moments as the visitors hit back twice to trail by just one on the night.“We played very well in the first half,” said Blues boss Sarri. “But as usual in the last two months we started very badly in the second half.“We need a solution. In the last 10 matches we started like in this match, it’s a big problem.“Probably at the end of the first half we thought we had qualified, but against this opponent it was not true. I have never seen something like these opponents physically, so it was clear the second half could be difficult for us.3

Sarri recognises there’s a problem with his side’s start to the second-half of games

“But we did something wrong in the first 10 minutes of the second half.“At half-time I told them to start with the same application as they started the first, but we didn’t do it. It’s not easy to understand.“I could try without going in the dressing room at half-time if I could solve the problem.”Pedro opened the scoring following a flowing move involving Cesar Azpilicueta and Olivier Giroud, with the Spaniard applying the finish.3

Pedro bagged a brace

Pedro should have claimed the second but he somehow side-footed Eden Hazard’s inviting ball across goal on to the post.Fortunately for the Blues the ball ricocheted into luckless defender Simon Deli and bounced into the net.N’Golo Kante then set Pedro through to tee up Giroud for his 10th goal in the competition this season.That should have been that, but Chelsea’s defence dozed off in the 26th minute to allow the unmarked Tomas Soucek to pull one back with a header at the far post. Chelsea merely went straight down the other end and restored their four-goal cushion, Pedro pouncing on the rebound after Giroud’s close-range effort was saved.Yet a 5-1 aggregate lead at half-time became 5-3 only 10 minutes into the second half, a quickfire double from Petr Sevcik raising the Czech side’s hopes of a staging remarkable comeback.But Chelsea weathered the storm to set up a semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.Hazard, the subject of a couple of clattering early challenges, was taken off midway through the second half, but Sarri hopes he will be fit to face Burnley on Monday.“It’s nothing serious, I hope,” he added. “It’s only a strong knock. But I think we can recover him for the next match on Monday.”Disappointed Slavia coach Jindrich Trpisovsky said: “We scored three goals, but it is only a little remedy after the first half.”

---

Liverpool 1-0 Napoli: Mohamed Salah fires Reds into Champions League knockout stages with superb solo effort and Alisson makes incredible save at the death on another memorable Anfield night
Mohamed Salah sends Liverpool into Champions League knockout

---

ANDER HERRERA is ready to commit his long-term future to Manchester United with a new three-year deal in the pipeline. The Spanish midfielder has been in sensational form since Ole Gunnar
Manchester United star Ander Herrera wanted by Barcelona

---

Champions League Final pitch invader Kinsey Wolanski trolls Tottenham star. Kinsey Wolanski raced onto the pitch during Tottenham's Champions League Final defeat to Liverpool in Madrid

---

Everton news: Manager Marco Silva has players' full backing

---

Arrizabalaga showed how little power managers and referees have over proceedings, and how silly you can look when you defy the spirit of the game. Kepa had gone down twice with injuries in extra-time, and Caballero has a good reputation against penalties. Last year he stopped three against
Chris Sutton warns Maurizio Sarri not to start Kepa Arrizabalaga

---

May 02, 2019 · The Bay Area will be well represented at the Women's World Cup next month in France as six of the 23 players named today to the team have strong regional connections, including stars Alex Morgan
Women's World Cup: Who are the stars to watch out for? - BBC

---

Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial could return from injury for Manchester United against Liverpool this weekend.. The pair suffered muscle injuries in the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint
Man Utd boost with Martial and Lingard set for early return

---

Man Utd transfer news LIVE: Griezmann to Barcelona hijack, Pogba price, De Ligt theory MAN UTD TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All of the latest updates and gossip from Manchester United.
Manchester United transfer news and latest rumours on Metro.co.uk

---

Michy Batshuayi savagely trolls Phil Jones following Valencia's win over Man Utd. Michy Batshuayi didn't waste any time making Phil Jones feel even worse following Manchester United's defeat to
Michy Batshuyi mocks Phil Jones's face after Man Utd lose to

---

Valencia vs Manchester United: Match preview, Man Utd's squad & probable line-up | UEFA Champions League 2018-19 v Barcelona Predicted Lineups - Champions League 2018/19 Predicted Lineups

---

Based on his early performances this season, it looked as though Tiemoue Bakayoko's spell at AC Milan was going to be a disaster for all concerned. Looking back on his cameo appearance against Napoli and his displays in the Europa League having been given a starting berth by Gennaro Gattuso, the 24-year-old looked as though he was merely
Tiemoue Bakayoko sees red as AC Milan are held by Bologna

---

BACK ON TOP Manchester City 2-0 Cardiff: Pep Guardiola's men breeze past Bluebirds to retake top spot. City have now won each of their last eight Premier League fixtures.
Manchester City 2-0 Cardiff: Pep Guardiola's men breeze past

---