PEDRO’S A CLASS ABOVE
Spaniard is hero with Hazard on bench
ALL the fuss was about Eden Hazard stuck on the bench. But in the end it was the ever-reliable Pedro who was Chelsea’s hero.
The Spaniard struck on the stroke of half-time after Chelsea had taken a battering.
A typically precise strike for his 13th goal of the season put the Blues in the driving seat for the Europa League final in Baku on May 29.
Sarri’s decision to leave out Hazard raised eyebrows. In the end the Italian got away with it as Chelsea weathered an Eintracht storm and could even have won the game late on.
Perhaps this proved his odd claim before the match that the Premier League’s top four was his priority – despite the fact he was about to play a semi-final and has never won a major trophy.
Sarri claimed the Belgian needed a rest and could change things from the bench.
Eintracht, in their first European semi-final in 39 years, were not to be taken lightly – having ousted Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan and Benfica.
The Waldstadion was intimidatingly noisy – the home fans had waited a long time for a night like this.
It was cagey at the start, but then Eintracht got going and Filip Kostic should have done better than miskick when the ball reached him unmarked.
Then as Chelsea gave the ball away yet again, Danny da Costa struck a fierce low shot that Kepa Arrizabalaga did well to save.
Andreas Christensen was booked for a lunge on Sebastian Rode and Eintracht skipper David Abraham should have done better from the free-kick.
Then the pressure paid off. Kostic crossed from the left and Luka Jovic stooped to guide his header in off the far past.
It was the young striker’s 26th goal of the season – and showed why most of Europe’s top clubs are chasing him. Chelsea were coming under increasing pressure and the noise levels had you fearing for your eardrums.
Pedro had Chelsea’s first chance after 31 minutes when his shot on the turn went just wide then Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed by an inch.
Then they were level. Eintracht failed to clear, Loftus-Cheek won the ball and set up Pedro for the little Spaniard to fire home from 12 yards.
Sarri threw on Hazard and Olivier Giroud struck his shot just wide. And David Luiz’s snap header from Hazard’s free-kick could have snatched victory.