Nigerian Eye

Slavia Prague 0-1 Chelsea: Blues steal late first-leg lead in Europa League q/final

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Marcos Alonso snatched a precious 1-0 away win for Chelsea in their Europa League quarter-final first leg at Slavia Prague on Thursday. 
 
The Blues started with N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard on the bench and were outplayed for long periods until Alonso headed in an unlikely winner four minutes from time. 
 
Victory was scarcely deserved for Chelsea, with Kepa Arrizabalaga starring in the away goal and the notion of a kind draw for the visitors put to bed by an excellent Slavia display. 
 
But Maurizio Sarri's decision to rest key men was ultimately justified as his side prepare to visit Liverpool on Sunday in complete control of this European tie ahead of next week's return leg. 
 
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An off-balance Simon Deli directed his second-minute header wide and Slavia continued to put Sarri's men under pressure. 
 
Willian almost stole the opener against the run of play, crashing a superb 20-yard strike off the crossbar, but the hosts were well on top once more by the interval. 
 
Hazard was called from the bench after almost an hour of Chelsea toil and they immediately clicked into gear, with Ondrej Kolar blocking well from Antonio Rudiger before Willian drilled just wide. 
 
The Blues left spaces at the back to exploit, though, and only a smart Kepa parry denied Ibrahim Traore a breakaway winner, while the goalkeeper later kept out an acrobatic Jan Boril effort. 
 
And those saves gave Chelsea the foundation to chase a vital goal that arrived as Willian's deep cross picked out Alonso for a powerful downward header.

Latest-News Slavia Prague 0-1 Chelsea: Blues steal late first-leg lead in Europa League q/final

Marcos Alonso snatched a precious 1-0 away win for Chelsea in their Europa League quarter-final first leg at Slavia Prague on Thursday. ...

Arsenal defeat Napoli in first leg of Europa League quarter final

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Aaron Ramsey's strike and Kalidou Koulibaly's own goal earned Arsenal a 2-0 home win against Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final. 
 
Ramsey finished off a stunning move to open the scoring and Lucas Torreira's drive deflected in off Koulibaly to double Arsenal's advantage before the break at Emirates Stadium on Thursday. 
 
Serie A side Napoli struggled to impose themselves on the contest, although Lorenzo Insigne and Piotr Zielinski had big opportunities, and Carlo Ancelotti's men have work to do in next week's return. 
 
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Koulibaly made a superb pair of blocks to repel Ramsey and Ainsley Maitland-Niles but he could do nothing about Arsenal's excellent opener in the 14th minute. 
 
Ramsey's interception sparked a tremendous team move, the midfielder swapping passes with Mesut Ozil before Alexandre Lacazette and Maitland-Niles combined beautifully to set up the Wales international for a placed first-time finish. 
 
Arsenal scored a second in the 25th minute, Torreira turning into space outside the Napoli box and seeing his drive take a decisive deflection off Koulibaly. 
 
The Gunners continued to pile forward but, after Lacazette miscued and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tested Alex Meret, Insigne missed a great chance before the break. 
 
Napoli improved after the interval with the offside flag ruling out an Insigne goal and Koulibaly forcing a fine save from Petr Cech with a powerful header. 
 
Arsenal pushed for a third, though, with Meret superbly keeping out Ramsey's drive and Nacho Monreal planting a free header over the crossbar from the resulting corner. 
 
The impressive Meret made a double save to deny Sead Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles and Zielinski missed a huge opportunity to score a crucial away goal for Napoli. 
 
And Ramsey and Aubameyang should have made the visitors pay, wasting late chances to leave Napoli with some hope.