Nigerian Eye

Chelsea book their place in Europa League semi-finals

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Chelsea have booked their place in the Europa League semi-finals and in the process, set a new record for English teams in Europe. 
 
A Pedro brace, along with an Olivier Giroud tally and an own goal from Simon Deli were enough to see the Blues through at Stamford Bridge. 
 
Slavia Prague did make the tie more interesting with a pair of second half goals, but Chelsea came away with the 4-3 win in the second leg and advanced 5-3 on aggregate. 
 
The victory continued a run of dominance for the Blues this season in the Europa League, which has seen Maurizio Sarri’s side boast a near-perfect record in the competition. 
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Chelsea have won all but one contest in the Europa League this season – a 2-2 draw with Vidi at the end of the group stage with the Blues place already decided. 
 
The other 11 games through group and knockout stages have all been victories for Chelsea, which is a new record for any English club in European competition in a single season. 
 
The Blues will have the opportunity to improve on that mark, as they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals. 
 
But while Chelsea have set a new mark for English success this season, they are certainly not the only Premier League side who are enjoying their time on the continent this term. 
The Blues were joined in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday by London rivals Arsenal, who advanced with a 1-0 victory over Napoli, 3-0 on aggregate. 
 
The Gunners will face Valencia in the other semi-final, setting up the possibility of an all-London final in Baku on May 29. 
 
Things have gone as well for the Premier League in the Champions League, with both Liverpool and Tottenham making the semi-final.

Latest-News Chelsea book their place in Europa League semi-finals

Chelsea have booked their place in the Europa League semi-finals and in the process, set a new record for English teams in Europe. A Ped...

Arsenal breeze past Napoli to cruise into Europa League semis

23:05 Unknown 0

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Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal as Arsenal dispatched Napoli 1-0 on Thursday to advance to the Europa League semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate. 
 
Lacazette’s stunning 36th-minute free-kick put the English club through to a final four meeting with Spanish side Valencia. 
 
The exit of Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli means no Italian clubs are left in European competition this season. 
 
Unai Emery’s side were never troubled by the Italians despite the heated atmosphere in the Stadio San Paolo, even after losing departing midfielder Aaron Ramsey to a hamstring injury after half an hour. 
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Napoli had turned up the pressure early with a chance to break through after 17 minutes with Kalidou Koulibaly going on the counter-attack, racing up the pitch to cross to Jose Callejon but Petr Cech closed down the Spaniard’s weak effort. 
 
Ramsey limped off after 33 minutes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming on for the Welsh international. 
 
The Armenian promptly set up Lacazette who was awarded a free-kick after being brought down by Piotr Zielinski. 
 
Lacazette whipped the ball in from 25 metres past a motionless Alex Meret in the Napoli goal. 
 
Emery now faces a reunion with former club Valencia, 5-1 aggregate winners over fellow Spaniards Villarreal, as he targets a fourth Europa League title. 
 
(AFP)