Chelsea outclassed Dynamo Kiev 3-0 in the first leg of its Europa League last-16 tie, but Arsenal faces an uphill task to make the quarter-finals after slumping to a 1-3 defeat at French club Rennes.
Willian
London:
Pedro put the home side ahead after 17 minutes when he played a one-two with Olivier Giroud. Brazilian midfielder Willian made it two-nil with a perfect free-kick after 65 minutes before 18-year-old substitute Hudson-Odoi side-footed home.
Arsenal, which had never lost to French opposition away from home in 12 previous European games, took an early lead when what looked like a cross from Alex Iwobi evaded everyone and sneaked in at the far post. The English side controlled most of the first half but the match changed completely four minutes before half-time as Sokratis Papastathopoulos was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Rennes equalised from the resulting free-kick. Benjamin Bourigeaud rifled home at the second attempt and the host started the second half on a positive note. The French team went ahead 20 minutes after the restart. Mehdi Zeffane’s shot looped off defender Nacho Monreal into the net and Ismaila Sarr made it 3-1 two minutes from time.
First half goals from Arkadiusz Milik and Fabian Ruiz and an own goal by Jerome Onguene gave Napoli a 3-0 win over Austrian champion Salzburg. Sevilla twice went ahead against Slavia Prague but was pegged back on both occasions in a pulsating 2-2 draw.
Villarreal had a happier evening in St Petersburg and it will take a solid 3-1 lead over Zenit into the second leg at home. Bruno Petkovic scored a penalty for Dinamo Zagreb to give it a 1-0 home win over Benfica. In the only game between two former winners of the UEFA Cup, Eintracht Frankfurt was held 0-0 at home by Inter Milan.
Napoli, Dynamo Zagreb, Villarreal and Valencia will also take victories into next week’s second legs, while Sevilla vs Slavia Prague and Eintracht Frankfurt vs Inter Milan ended all square. Chelsea was by far the better side at Stamford Bridge but it was not until Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a third goal in stoppage time that the scoreline fully reflected its dominance.
Pedro put the home side ahead after 17 minutes when he played a one-two with Olivier Giroud. Brazilian midfielder Willian made it two-nil with a perfect free-kick after 65 minutes before 18-year-old substitute Hudson-Odoi side-footed home.
Arsenal, which had never lost to French opposition away from home in 12 previous European games, took an early lead when what looked like a cross from Alex Iwobi evaded everyone and sneaked in at the far post. The English side controlled most of the first half but the match changed completely four minutes before half-time as Sokratis Papastathopoulos was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Rennes equalised from the resulting free-kick. Benjamin Bourigeaud rifled home at the second attempt and the host started the second half on a positive note. The French team went ahead 20 minutes after the restart. Mehdi Zeffane’s shot looped off defender Nacho Monreal into the net and Ismaila Sarr made it 3-1 two minutes from time.
First half goals from Arkadiusz Milik and Fabian Ruiz and an own goal by Jerome Onguene gave Napoli a 3-0 win over Austrian champion Salzburg. Sevilla twice went ahead against Slavia Prague but was pegged back on both occasions in a pulsating 2-2 draw.
Villarreal had a happier evening in St Petersburg and it will take a solid 3-1 lead over Zenit into the second leg at home. Bruno Petkovic scored a penalty for Dinamo Zagreb to give it a 1-0 home win over Benfica. In the only game between two former winners of the UEFA Cup, Eintracht Frankfurt was held 0-0 at home by Inter Milan.