Chelsea 4-3 Slavia Prague (5-3 agg): Blues survive second half fightback from visitors to reach Europa League semi-finals

Chelsea 4-3 Slavia Prague (5-3 agg): Blues survive second half fightback from visitors to reach Europa League semi-finals
Chelsea made it through to the semi-finals of the Europa League but it was far from a comfortable win against Slavia Prague at Stamford Bridge.The Blues were 4-1 up after 27 minutes into the match and looked capable of scoring several more before the end.A second-half fight back by the visitors, and two superb long-distance goals from Petr Sevcik, saw a nervy Chelsea claim a 4-3 win and a 5-3 aggregate victory.4

Pedro opens the scoring for Chelsea

Maurizio Sarri named a strong side at Stamford Bridge with both Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante starting, with both rested for the first leg in Prague.It took just five minutes for Chelsea to double their aggregate lead as Pedro produced a sublime dinked finish after a neat one-two with striker Olivier Giroud.And the tie appeared as though it was as good as over just five minutes later as the Blues doubled their lead on the night. Another smart team move set Pedro up with a simple tap-in from close range.4

Olivier Giroud scores Chelsea’s third

But the Spanish winger inexplicably fired his effort against the post, only for it to bounce up into the face of Slavia Prague defender Simon Deli and rebound into the net.The goals just kept coming for Sarri’s rampant Chelsea, who had their third after 17 minutes with Pedro this time the provider.He squared for Giroud to score his 10th Europa League goal of the season.The visitors, trailing 4-0 on aggregate, pulled a goal back through captain Tomas Soucek who headed in unmarked from a corner.4

Tomas Soucek gets on back for Slavia Prague

But moments later Chelsea restored that advantage with their fourth goal of the night as Pedro bundled in.Slavia Prague grabbed their second of the night shortly after half time to reduce their aggregate deficit to 5-2.Petr Sevcik’s superb 20-yard strike was out of the reach of Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.4

Slavia Prague celebrate scoring

And Sevcik repeated the feat from similar range in the 55th minute to give the visitors hope of an astonishing fightback.His right-footed strike flew into the top corner as Prague made it 4-3 on the night, to cut Chelsea’s aggregate lead to 5-3.Suddenly the Blues’ cruise was under threat. And had Sevcik connected in the box when he slipped instead, their last-four place could have come under serious threat.David Luiz got away with a cynical handball to deny Slavia a late chance, with the visitors squandering their free-kick on the edge of the Chelsea area. And so the Blues held out, surviving a genuine fright when they should have breezed through.They will go on to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final after they beat Benfica, the first leg will be played on May 2 and May 9.In the second semi-final, Arsenal will play Valencia.

---

Manchester United will not be hurt by their 2-0 Old Trafford defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round-of-16 first leg on Tuesday, Ander Herrera has said. French champions PSG
Manchester United must end Champions League hoodoo to

---

Feb 12, 2019 · Gordon Banks, England's 1966 World Cup winning goalkeeper, has died aged 81. A statement released by his family via one of his former clubs Stoke City said: "It is with great sadness that we
Funeral of Gordon Banks OBE - How Staffordshire said its

---

Mark Bullingham will become the new chief executive of the Football Association, the governing body has announced. An internal candidate, Bullingham joined the FA as commercial and marketing
Football Association announces Mark Billingham as new chief

---

New Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom (left) with Leeann Dempster and Robbie StockdaleFormer Barnsley and Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom has been appointed Hibernian's new head coach.The 41-year-old Englishman has agreed a three-and-a-half-year c
Hibs appoint Paul Heckingbottom as new head coach - The Scotsman

---

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp appears to say 'f***** hell, what a s*** game' to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at full-time Sunday, 24 February 2019 Jurgen Klopp appeared to have an expletive message for Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford.
ManUtd News - Klopp appears to say 'f***ing hell, what a s

---

Matchday atmosphere A select number of guests were treated to a sound demonstration of Duel of the Fates - the club's pre-match music - while pictures also show the impressive interior of the new ground This is a glimpse into what Tottenham fans can expect on matchdays at their new stadium. talkSPORT.com understands Daniel Levy,…
Tottenham new stadium update: Spurs agree deal to use Wembley

---

The coolest footballers of all time, including Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso, Dimitar Berbatov and Eric Cantona the best footballer you never saw - Cardiff City and Reading may sound unlikely
The coolest footballers of all time, including Andrea Pirlo

---

Everton news: Manager Marco Silva has players' full backing, says Bernard The Toffees boss is under increasing pressure after losing five of his last six games By Jake Bacon
Manager Marco Silva has players' full backing, says Bernard
sportsalert.org/2019/02/18/manager-marco-silva-has-players-full-backing-says-bernard/
Support The Toffees boss is under increasing pressure after losing five of his last six games Bernard is confident Marco Silva can turn around Everton's fortunes. The Toffees boss is enduring a difficult debut season at Goodison Park and has won just two of his last eight Premier League games. Some Everton fans are losing
Jordan Pickford has Everton and England backing, says Marco

---

Man Utd fans think Matthijs De Ligt transfer is back on after spotting latest hint. Man Utd have noticed another transfer hint from Matthijs De Ligt sparking hope their move could still be on
Latest Manchester United FC News and Transfers - ManUNews.com

---

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reportedly had a clause in his contract that meant Arsenal would have to pay Southampton £10,000 every time he played 20 minutes or more. Oxlade-Chamberlain signed for
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had unusual clause in his Arsenal

---

Said Benrahma: Arsenal and Chelsea linked with Brentford star

---

Hello and welcome to football.london 's Arsenal live blog, where we'll bring you all the latest Gunners news doing the rounds during the international break.. Unai Emery's side suffered a 3-1 defeat against Rennes in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie, but fought back with a 3-0 win to progress to the quarter-final where they will face Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli side.
What Arsenal fans are saying about Denis Suarez as he makes

---

Tottenham's form has been affected by the delays to the club's new stadium and their extended stay at Wembley this season, according to Gus Poyet. The former Spurs and Chelsea star joined the
'Tottenham's new stadium delays have affected the Spurs

---