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Pedro\u2019s smart double helped Chelsea ride out a worrying wobble to see off Slavia Prague 4-3 and reach the Europa League semi-finals.<\/p>\nPedro\u2019s smart double helped Chelsea ride out a worrying wobble to see off Slavia Prague 4-3 and reach the Europa League semi-finals.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s second leg at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
Pedro opened the scoring after only five minutes and, after Simon Deli\u2019s own goal, the Spaniard teed up Europa League top-scorer Olivier Giroud for his 10th of the competition.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Blues became just the second Premier League team after Manchester City to hit 100 goals in all competitions this term, but slipped woefully off the pace after building a commanding lead.<\/p>\n
Maurizio Sarri stalked the touchline with a mixture of panic and fury for the last quarter-hour, dispensing entirely with his technical area as his emotions ran unchecked.<\/p>\n
The head coach can be forgiven for expecting a cakewalk conclusion, especially after Chelsea raced into that 3-0 lead inside 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
Pedro exchanged passes with first Cesar Azpilicueta and then Giroud, before lashing home a stylish opener.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard nearly scored again three minutes later, turning Hazard\u2019s low cross against a post, only for the rebound to strike defender Deli in the head and bounce over the line.<\/p>\n
If that own goal proved cruel, N\u2019Golo Kante\u2019s through-ball for Chelsea\u2019s third was exquisite. Pedro raced on to the defense-splitting pass, squared to Giroud and the France striker tapped home.<\/p>\n
A semi-final berth seemingly already assured, Chelsea switched off long enough for Slavia skipper Soucek to nod home unmarked from a corner.<\/p>\n
Chelsea hit back immediately, though, Pedro scuffing home his second and the Blues\u2019 fourth.<\/p>\n
The hosts\u2019 dominance evaporated at the top of the second half, Sevcik twice netting from distance to shock the Blues.<\/p>\n
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga should have reached the first but could do little about the second, a thunderbolt to shake Stamford Bridge and change the mood entirely.<\/p>\n
Suddenly the Blues\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And so the Blues held out, surviving a genuine fright when they should have breezed through.<\/p>\n