Chelsea must raise their game to win the Europa League after Jekyll & Hyde show

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Simon Johnson18 April 2019

Pedro's smart double helped Chelsea ride out a worrying wobble to see off Slavia Prague 4-3 and reach the Europa League semi-finals.

The Blues won their quarter-final 5-3 on aggregate, but at a push rather than a canter, squandering a 3-0 lead in Thursday's second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Pedro opened the scoring after only five minutes and, after Simon Deli's own goal, the Spaniard teed up Europa League top-scorer Olivier Giroud for his 10th of the competition.

Tomas Soucek headed home unmarked for Slavia before the break, only for Pedro to score the fifth goal of the match before the half-hour mark.

After the interval Petr Sevcik blasted home two long-range strikes in three minutes to give Slavia hope of an unlikely comeback, but there was to be no Chelsea collapse.

Simon Johnson assesses the key talking points at the Bridge...

Chelsea must get better to win the Europa League

Sarri says his first season will be deemed a success - even without Champions League football next season.
Action Images via Reuters

It sounds a ridiculous thing to say when you consider Chelsea have won 11 and drawn one of their 12 matches in the competition.

But Maurizio Sarri’s side have not played what many would perceive to be a quality team yet, and that is surely going to change.

Eintracht Frankfurt, who are a highly rated side in the Bundesliga, await in the last four, with the winners facing Arsenal or Valencia.

Chelsea can’t afford to be as slack as they were in scraping over the line against Slavia Prague and must raise their game several levels to lift the trophy on May 29 in Baku.

Point proven by Giroud

AP

Forget the calibre of the opposition, Giroud proved once again this evening why he is the best striker in the Chelsea squad.

On the eve of the second leg, the France international expressed his frustration once again over being second choice this term.

He deserves everyone’s sympathy. For the first half of the campaign, Giroud had to watch sulky Alvaro Morata fail to impress in the Premier League and in the second half it has been Gonzalo Higuain.

Giroud should be the main man to see out the season now. The 32-year-old was instrumental in Chelsea racing into a three goal lead.

REUTERS

His brilliant hold up play and passing were on show in the opening two goals and then he was in the right place to add the third from Pedro’s cross.

It took his tally for the Europa League to 10 and maintained his hopes of finishing the competition’s top scorer. But Chelsea need him in the remaining four top flight games.

Pedro redeems himself

EPA

In the first leg Pedro had one of his worst ever performances – not just at Chelsea, but in his whole career.

It was so bad that Sarri took the Spaniard off before the hour mark and Chelsea noticeably improved after he went off.

Pedro has a CV that is the envy of many, but his every touch, pass and run seemed to only succeed in giving the ball away.

AFP/Getty Images

But he was clearly looking to make amends at Stamford Bridge, particularly in the opening 45 minutes. Pedro scored twice and also set up Giroud with a tap-in.

He was one of the many players that disappeared after the break and was subbed late on, but if it wasn’t for Pedro’s contribution, Chelsea may not have gone through at all.

Chelsea can’t play for 90 minutes

Action Images via Reuters

Whether it is due to attitude, fitness or just the sheer amount of games taking its toll, Sarri’s side aren’t able to perform at a high level throughout a match.

There have been several examples this term of Chelsea suffering dips in performances, particularly immediately after the interval.

Only four days ago, Chelsea emerged after a promising 45 minutes at Liverpool without the same intensity and were soon 2-0 down.

Slavia Prague must have spotted an opportunity given the way they came out after the break, despite being 4-1 down on the night (5-1 on aggregate).

Getty Images

Petr Sevcik changed the mood with two shots from long range and out of nowhere, the Blues were in a fight to get through to the last four.

It was inexcusable really. Question marks have to be asked of Sarri once more and what he is saying at half-time to motivate his men.

Kepa hasn’t justified the price tag yet

REUTERS

The Spain international has his qualities, but it would be surprising if anyone thinks he looks like the world’s most expensive keeper right now.

With Thibaut Courtois forcing a move to Real Madrid last summer, Chelsea’s desperation to find a replacement meant they paid a massive £71.6m for the Athletic Bilbao star.

Kepa agreed a seven-year contract so has plenty of time on his side to improve and make the investment worthwhile.

But he just doesn’t look like an imposing keeper between the posts so far – particularly with shots from long range. It might be a positional issue as well as a lack of reach.

Kepa isn’t the biggest and while Mohamed Salah’s shot on Sunday, plus Petr Sivcek’s double in the second half tonight, were well aimed and struck, there is a nagging feeling Courtois or another predecessor Petr Cech would have stopped at least one of them.

You just get the sense that the opposition feel there is a weakness to exploit and more teams will fire efforts from distance in future.

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