[ad_1]
Chelsea set a new Europa League record for the longest undefeated race in the history of the competition after a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final first leg.
The Blues tied Atletico Madrid's previous precedent in fifteen matches without being beaten after defeating Slavia Prague in the quarterfinals, and beat the Spanish club Thursday night in Frankfurt.
Chelsea's record race began in 2012, the season in which she won the Europa League trophy.
Luka Jovic's superb header in the first half helped Maurizio Sarri's team to fall behind Germany, but Pedro tied for the Premier League team shortly before half-time .
More: Soccer
Chelsea started the game without Eden Hazard, who was named on the bench but Sarri refused to play against the Belgian for 90 minutes.
This decision seemed dubious as Frankfurt started the strongest on both sides, putting considerable pressure on the visitors in front of their crazy supporters.
And it was not a surprise when the Bundesliga team opened the scoring, while Jovic, the goal of Chelsea and Liverpool, produced a fantastic header to beat Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea struggled to create opportunities until Pedro found space in the penalty box and hit the back of the net.
To touch. Stroke. ?
Pedro imposes for Chelsea with a goal on the outside on a free kick of the half-time! pic.twitter.com/Krx5aZ874l
– Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 2, 2019
Frankfurt's intensity dissipated after the break and Ruben Loftus-Cheek lost a good chance before David Luiz hit a free kick.
Loftus-Cheek (England) saw an effort saved by Kevin Trapp and the German goalkeeper was forced again a few minutes later to deny a header to Luiz.
The hosts, dominated in the second half, were about to score after just five minutes, but David Abraham's head flew over the bar.
The 1-1 draw places Chelsea in a decent position to qualify for the Europa League final before the return leg at Stamford Bridge next week.
More: Soccer
[ad_2]
Source link
