MX23RW : Friday, November 22 17:23:11| >> :60:690:690:
[monks data]
Chelsea logo
Europa League | Quarter-Finals
Apr 18, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Slavia Prague

4-3

Pedro (5', 27'), Deli (10' og.), Giroud (17')
FT(HT: 4-1)
Soucek (26'), Sevcik (51', 55')

N'Golo Kante rejects Chelsea Europa League favourites tag

Blues star eyes "beautiful" ending to tricky season.

N'Golo Kante insists Chelsea do not consider themselves Europa League favourites.

The Blues raced into a 3-0 lead in Thursday's quarter-final second leg against Slavia Prague at Stamford Bridge, only for the visitors to pull three goals back for a fraught finale.

Chelsea prevailed 4-3 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate, with Pedro on target twice and Olivier Giroud notching his 10th Europa League goal of the campaign.

Maurizio Sarri's men will now face Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals, but with Arsenal facing Valencia in the other last-four tie Kante maintains Chelsea will not get ahead of themselves.

"We're not favourites; we played a good match and we will do all we can to get to the final," said Kante.

"But we're not favourites. It was important for us to win this game.

"I think it's important to be in the semi-finals, it was our target.

"We played a good game, it was difficult in the second-half but we got what we wanted and we are happy for that.

"I think they worked very well, they tried to push more and scored two beautiful goals.

"And after that we managed to hold on to keep the win."

Chelsea v Slavia Prague – UEFA Europa League – Quarter Final – Second Leg – Stamford Bridge
Olivier Giroud, left, and Cesar Azpilicueta, right, reflect after Chelsea's Europa League win over Slavia Prague

Pedro's first finish, a neat Giroud effort and an own goal from Simon Deli put Chelsea three goals to the good inside 20 minutes in south-west London on Thursday.

Tomas Soucek's headed finish did not dent Chelsea's authority, but Petr Sevcik's double after the break most certainly did.

Chelsea are still chasing a top-four Premier League finish, along with their European ambitions.

And World Cup winner Kante believes completing that Europa League mission would turn Chelsea's campaign into a success.

"We can make the season beautiful by winning the Europa League," said Kante.

"That's the only title we can win now, so it would be great to win the Europa League.

"I think at the beginning of the game it was a good feeling to score three goals like this. The most important thing was to qualify.

"We'll go into the semi-final with confidence and we hope to qualify for the final."

Chelsea v Slavia Prague – UEFA Europa League – Quarter Final – Second Leg – Stamford Bridge
Olivier Giroud, pictured, toasts his 10th goal of the Europa League campaign at Stamford Bridge (John Walton/PA)

Chelsea head coach Sarri lamented another slow second half start that nearly derailed the Blues' bid for European glory.

The hosts were cruising until Sevcik's quick-fire double that teed up a tense finish.

France star Kante admitted Chelsea have an issue with their second-half performances, but insisted the Stamford Bridge men still have chance to resolve those shortcomings.

Asked about those slow second-half starts, Kante said: "It's just something that has happened many times this season and something we need to manage a bit better. But we still have to work on that."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Nick Purewal, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '32794971-8536-42aa-aefa-ed6307fda4b1');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Chelsea not the favourites for Europa League, insists Kante'});

ID:356698: cacheID:356698:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10077:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea's Maurizio Sarri on the touchline against Slavia Prague in the Europa League on April 11, 2019.
Read Next:
Sarri worried about Chelsea's second-half behaviour
>
Read more about N'Golo Kante Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Steelers
19-24
Browns
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Lazio440012
2Ajax431010
3Anderlecht431010
4Frankfurt431010
5Galatasaray431010
6Spurs43019
7FCSB43019
8Lyon42117
9Rangers42117
10Olympiacos42117
11Bodo/Glimt42117
12Midtjylland42117
13Ferencvaros42026
14Man Utd41306
15Plzen41306
16AZ42026
17Besiktas42026
18Hoffenheim41215
19Roma41215
20Fenerbahce41215
21Elfsborg41124
22Braga41124
23Porto41124
24Slavia Prague41124
25Real Sociedad41124
26Malmo41033
27FC Twente40313
28Qarabag41033
29Union SG40222
30Nice40222
31RFS40222
32Ludogorets40131
33PAOK40131
34Athletic Club00000
35M. Tel Aviv40040
36Dynamo Kiev40040


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!