Chelsea reach semi-finals but only after a mighty fright at the Bridge

5-3 on aggregate, but at a push rather than a canter, squandering a 3-0 lead in Thursday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Pedro opened the scoring after only five minutes and, after Simon Deli’s own goal, the Spaniard teed up Europa League top-scorer Olivier Giroud for his tenth of the competition.

Tomas Soucek headed home unmarkedforslaviabeforethe break, only for Pedro to score the fifth goal of the match before the half-hour mark.

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.

The Blues became only 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.

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.

The head coach can be forgiven for expecting a cakewalk conclusion, especially after Chelsea raced into that 3-0 lead inside 20 minutes.

Pedro, pictured, exchanged passes with first Cesar Azpilicueta and then Giroud, before lashing home a stylish opener. The Spaniard nearly scored again three minutes later, turning Hazard’s low cross against a post, only for the rebound to strike defender Deli in the head and bounce over the line.

If that own goal proved cruel, N’golo Kante’s through ball for Chelsea’s third was exquisite. Pedro raced on to the defencesplitting pass, squared to Giroud and the France striker tapped home.

A semi-final berth seemingly assured, Chelsea switched off long enough for Slavia skipper Soucek to nod home from a corner.chelseahitbackimmediately, though, Pedro scuffing home his second and the Blues’ fourth.

The hosts’ dominance evaporated at the top of the second half, Sevcik twice netting from distance to shock the Blues.

The visitors sensed blood and poured forward but the Blues held out, surviving a genuine fright when they should have breezed through.