Having secured a top-four spot in the Premier League, Chelsea turn their attention to the Europa League, where they take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg semi-finals after aa 1-1 draw in the first.
Maurizio Sarri recently claimed that the Blues deserved a trophy this season and they are now two wins away from securing it. But one player at the heart of Frankfurt’s attack stands in their way.
Luka Jovic has emerged as one of the breakout players from Bundesliga this season. The Serbian has performed consistently throughout the season and has even been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Jovic has scored 17 goals and provided five assists in the Bundesliga this season. Only Paco Alcacer and Robert Lewandowski have scored more. With all due respect to Frankfurt's Sebastian Haller and Ante Rebic, Jovic does not enjoy the luxury of service that Alcacer and Lewandowski do.
Jovic has clearly been one of the most prolific strikers in Europe.
In the Europa League, the forward has netted nine times and has an assist to his name. These numbers are indeed impressive for a player who is playing in the elite competition for the first time.
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It’s worth noting that Jovic has stepped up and inked his name onto the score-sheet against excellent opponents. He has scored against Lazio, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Chelsea this season among other top clubs.
His goalscoring nous and threat on the counter will be Frankfurt's most potent weapon against Chelsea in the second leg. He has already shown what he can do when he easily went past the Chelsea midfield and defence in the first leg to head the ball into the net from inside the box.
The score-line at the half-way point of the tie reads 1-1, with the London-based club enjoying the away goal advantage. There is all to play for at Stamford Bridge and Frankfurt will be looking towards Jovic to negate that away goal advantage.
Teams which employ a possession-based approach are most vulnerable when they lose the ball and this is where Jovic will be handy for Frankfurt. Chelsea are bound to dominate possession at the Bridge, but one wrong move can spell danger for the hosts, given the abilities of the Serbian. Moreover, Chelsea will miss the services of N'Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger.
This tie is far from over, especially with Jovic in tremendous form.
Here's how to watch the UEFA Europa League LIVE from SouthEast Asia
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