CHELSEA have booked their place in the Europa League semi-final after holding off a late fightback from Slavia Prague to win 4-3 (5-3 on aggregate) at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts flew out of the blocks, scoring all four of their goals in the opening half hour but manager Maurizio Sarri was unhappy with how his side appeared to switch off in the second period to gift the Czech side two identical long-range strikes within five minutes of each other.

“As usual in the last two months, we started badly in the second half,” he reflected.