MX23RW : Wednesday, December 18 23:55:41| >> :120:7634:7634:
[monks data]
Attendance: 20,312
Malmo
Europa League | Round of 32
Feb 14, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Chelsea logo

1-2

FT(HT: 0-1)
Barkley (30'), Giroud (58')

Hazard brushes off incident with Malmo fan as Sarri urges better from Chelsea

Hazard brushes off incident with Malmo fan as Sarri urges better from Chelsea
© Reuters
Chelsea won 2-1 at Malmo.

Eden Hazard was accosted by a shirt-seeking supporter at the full-time whistle of Chelsea's 2-1 win at Malmo, but downplayed the disturbing incident.

The culprit's grip was released only when the Belgium forward handed over his shirt and UEFA are likely to investigate.

The fan, one of at least four from the home stands who encroached on to the playing surface, was escorted off by stewards, holding the shirt.

Hazard appeared unnerved, but later brushed off the moment.

"It's not an incident. He just asked for my shirt," said Hazard, who came on as a second-half substitute in Thursday night's Europa League last-32 first leg in Sweden.

Chelsea responded from their embarrassing 6-0 mauling at Manchester City, but were less than convincing and received a stark warning from head coach Maurizio Sarri afterwards.

Chelsea appeared to be coasting at 2-0, through goals from Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud, but Anders Christiansen's strike 10 minutes from time means the Blues' progression to the last-16 is no formality.

Sarri's future remains in doubt ahead of a crucial week: Monday's FA Cup tie with Manchester United, next Thursday's second leg with Malmo and the February 24 Carabao Cup final with City. The Wembley date is followed by the Premier League clash with Tottenham.

The 60-year-old Italian said: "If we concede a goal like this to a team like Manchester City or United or Tottenham, then you risk conceding three goals in 10 minutes. So we have to do better, I think.

"We need to have continuity and consistency, I think, in the mental condition to be able to approach every match with the same level of application, determination and attention.

Maurizio Sarri
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri knows his side face a potentially decisive 10 days (Martin Rickett/PA)

"You know very well that, if you are in bad mental condition in England, in 10 days you can lose three or four very important matches.

"So we need consistency. We have to approach every match in the same way. It's not easy, but we have to try."

Sarri was content with the performance, which saw Chelsea's first away goals in 2019 after losses to Arsenal, Bournemouth and at the Etihad Stadium.

"I am happy because we played with a very good level of confidence," Sarri added.

As well as the small pitch invasion, UEFA is likely to scrutinise Malmo supporters' use of flares and the throwing of drinks over the partition between home and away fans.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Matt McGeehan, Press Association Sport, Malmo');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'fd89b423-6f1b-4407-b3af-a0ce6072a55b');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,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': 'Hazard brushes off incident with Malmo fan as Sarri urges better from Chelsea'});

ID:350394: cacheID:350394:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7107:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea's Eden Hazard on February 10, 2019
Read Next:
Eden Hazard plays down incident with pitch-invading Malmo fan
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Lazio651016
2Athletic Bilbao651016
3Anderlecht642014
4Lyon641113
5Frankfurt641113
6Galatasaray633012
7Man Utd633012
8Rangers632111
9Spurs632111
10FCSB632111
11Real Sociedad631210
12Ajax631210
13Bodo/Glimt631210
14Roma62319
15Olympiacos62319
16Ferencvaros63039
17Plzen62319
18AZ62228
19Fenerbahce62228
20Porto62228
21Union SG62228
22Braga62137
23Elfsborg62137
24PAOK62137
25Midtjylland62137
26M. Tel Aviv62046
27Hoffenheim61326
28Besiktas62046
29Slavia Prague61144
30FC Twente60424
31Malmo61144
32Ludogorets60333
33Qarabag61053
34RFS60242
35Nice60242
36Dynamo Kiev60060


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!