Chelsea hosts Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of the Europa League semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, May 9th at Stamford Bridge (London)
Two rounds before the end of the Premier League season, Chelsea lies in fourth place, but it is not guaranteed for the Blues yet, because Arsenal and Manchester United are coming on the heels. They also want to spend the next season in the Champions League. The head coach of the Blues Maurizio Sarri is not obliged to divide tournaments by importance - the Europa League should be a priority for him. Because if the team wins this tournament, the players will raise a trophy over their heads for the first time in his coaching career, and a victory in the Europa League automatically gives a place in the Champions League for the next season. Surely the Italian coach is perfectly aware of all this; nevertheless, he left Eden Hazard on the bench in the game in Frankfurt. There were also questions regarding the two center backs. Sarri admitted that coaching staff hasn’t put Cesar Azpilicueta in the center of defense at practice. According to the coach of the Blues, now the team has no squad problems, but this will not last forever, so it needs to be ready for anything.
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But in the first leg, Azpilicueta appeared on the right flank; Andreas Christensen and David Luiz were center backs. The score was opened in the middle of the first half, and Azpilicueta was one of the main culprits. He failed to stop the breakthrough of Filip Kostich. As a result, there was a high cross on Luka Jovic, whom Real Madrid really wants to see in their ranks. David Luiz, who was also blamed for the allowed goal, didn’t manage to prevent him. Serbian football player elegantly and neatly shot past the goalkeeper with an excellent header. Interestingly, each team hit the goalmouth only once in the first half, but both of these shots were scoring. In the last minute of the first half, the Pensioners scored a very important goal. During one of the attacks, which was almost bogged down, an extremely important rebound was won by the Blues - Ruben Loftus-Cheek managed to scrape the ball from his opponent in the penalty area. After that, Pedro passed through a defender by making a dangle and delivered a well-placed shot - 1:1. Hazard appeared in the field shortly after the start of the second half, but the Belgian failed to become a hero of the meeting. Chelsea began to whip up tension near the hosts’ box. The Pensioners shot on goal 9 times in the second half, while Eintracht - only 2 times. David Luiz had a great chance to score but hit the crossbar.
It is very likely that we will have an English final in this Europa League season. Moreover, teams from one city can meet in the final for the first time in history. Arsenal, after the first game with Valencia (3: 1), will try not to lose the advantage in Spain, and Chelsea achieved an important draw in the first away game. Of course, everything will be decided in London, and a place in the final is not yet guaranteed for the Blues. In Frankfurt, Chelsea players tended to win more. Now, the very Germans need to attack in London, and it is very unlikely that they manage to play a leading part. Eintracht went very far this season due to its desire; nevertheless, it is necessary to take into account the fact that this team looks rather weak in positional attacks. In London, Sarri will certainly field all of his strongest players, including Eden Hazard. Nothing has been decided yet, so the Blues will play at maximum speed.
Prediction for the match: Chelsea to win
