PARIS (AFP) - Olivier Giroud scored a hat-trick as Chelsea cruised into the Europa League quarter-finals with an 8-0 aggregate thrashing of Dynamo Kiev on Thursday (March 14), while Napoli also booked a last-eight spot.
After a 3-0 victory in last week's last 16, first leg at Stamford Bridge, 2013 winners Chelsea were even more dominant in Kiev despite manager Maurizio Sarri ringing the changes, thumping the Ukrainians 5-0.
The Premier League giants are bidding for a first trophy under the Italian after losing last month's English League Cup final to Manchester City, and hoping to secure qualification for next season's Champions League.
"We started very well. We wanted to start in this way," Sarri told BT Sport. "We played a wonderful first half and managed the game in the second half."
Giroud, who is yet to start in the Premier League in 2019 after the signing of Gonzalo Higuain, netted a first-half double, before Marcos Alonso slid home a third on the stroke of half-time.
Frenchman Giroud completed his first Chelsea hat-trick by heading home Willian's free-kick just before the hour mark and is now the leading scorer in this year's competition with nine goals.
Teenage winger Callum Hudson-Odoi continued his own fine Europa League form, slotting in his fourth goal of the tournament after racing clear with 12 minutes remaining.
But Sarri reserved special praise for England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who also impressed after being given a rare start.
"His potential as a player is very, very, high," he said.
"Physically, technically and tactically he is improving. He can become one of the best midfielders not only in England but in Europe."
NAPOLI THROUGH DESPITE DEFEAT
Elsewhere, Napoli wrapped up a 4-3 aggregate victory over last season's semi-finalists Salzburg despite a 3-1 second-leg loss in Austria.
Arkadiusz Milik scored a crucial away goal in the 14th minute to all but end the tie, leaving Salzburg needing five unanswered goals to progress.
Munas Dabbur and Fredrik Gulbrandsen struck to give the hosts a glimmer of hope, but Christoph Leitgeb's injury-time third goal was only enough to secure a consolation win on the night.
Russian outfit Krasnodar suffered heartbreak in the other early game, as Goncalo Guedes scored a dramatic injury-time equaliser to send Valencia through 3-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 second-leg draw.
The 19-year-old Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov's 85th-minute effort looked set to dump out the Spaniards on away goals, but Portugal international Guedes came off the bench to send Valencia through.
Marcelino's men have recovered well from a slow start to the season, having also reached the Copa del Rey final and stepped up their bid for a top-four place in La Liga.
Mar 09, 2019 · Mauricio Pochettino was damning in his assessment of his Tottenham players after they threw away a first-half lead to lose 2-1 to Southampton, accusing them of "complacency" and "arrogance
Spurs snap Chelsea curse, cement top-four spot - global.espn.com
global.espn.com/football/blog/the-match/60/post/3435724/tottenham-first-win-at-chelsea-since-1990-to-move-decisively-clear-in-top-four-race
Eden Hazard was anonymous once again and the lack of drive and purpose within the team after the half-time interval was embarrassingly obvious. This was a huge game for Chelsea, one that would have put them within two points of the top four had they won. But only one team had the hunger for the win after the break on Sunday and that was Spurs.
Arsenal and Mesut Ozil lack mental strength to compete for
And that has got Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Lim Kia Tong and his council worried. "We need to see if we need to tweak the system or the coaching staff," added Lim, whose
Lim Kia Tong 'willing to change', gets support ahead of FAS
The Leap is a fantastic company which take care of you from the moment you book to your last day. I was very fortunate to be surrounded by some amazing people during my 6 weeks. This includes both the staff, locals and my fellow volunteers.
Taking the Leap Without a Net - The Ascent
ZURICH, March 18 (Reuters) - Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is facing disciplinary action for his celebration after one of the three goals he scored in last week's 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid
Ronaldo faces disciplinary hearing over goal celebration
Alves is the third PSG player to be targeted by thieves in recent months. Thieves broke in and stole luxury watches from the home of Paris St Germain's Dani Alves while the Brazilian defender was playing a match earlier this week, French sports newspaper L'Equipe reported on Saturday.
Sports: PSG's Dani Alves House Burgled During Match
Former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic criticised Gareth Bale for lacking leadership qualities and hit out at coach Santiago Solari after the club's La Liga title ambitions were dented by Thursday's 2-2 draw at Villarreal.
Bale nowhere near being a Real Madrid leader - Mijatovic
REUTERS: Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa's sportsmanlike decision to allow Aston Villa to score unopposed in Sunday's 1-1 draw is all the more remarkable given what is at stake for the
Arsene Wenger hails Marcelo Bielsa' sportsmanship as Leeds
Football: Qatar players cleared in eligibility row just before Asian Cup final against four-time champs Japan ABU DHABI (AFP) - Asia's football body dismissed a protest claiming that two Qatari players, including Asian Cup top scorer Almoez Ali, were ineligible to play just hours before the final on Friday (Feb 1).
Latest ASIAN CUP | The Straits Times
New chapter for Tottenham as stadium hosts first game. Soccer Football - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Test Event - Under 18 Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton - Tottenham Hotspur
New chapter for Tottenham as stadium hosts first game
Liverpool set to earn almost £150 million after second-placed finish in Premier League to the Champions League final, with victory over Tottenham in Madrid of the domestic and overseas TV
Liverpool's record with Champions League final referee will
Pep Guardiola believes playing Manchester United at Old Trafford is no longer scary for Manchester City. City struggled for results at the home of their local rivals before Sheikh Mansour's
Old Trafford holds no fears for Guardiola - sports.yahoo.com
Shadow playing: Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan warms up in Manchester on Tuesday. Manchester City will play a pre-season match in Japan for the first time when they take on J League side Yokohama F. Marinos on July 27, the Premier League champions said on Wednesday.
Manchester City to play pre-season game in Japan for the
0 comments:
Post a Comment