Sarri fires warning to Chelsea players after draw in Frankfurt

Maurizio Sarri has warned that Chelsea cannot afford to be complacent ahead of next week’s Europa League semi-final second leg.

The Blues are in a strong position after drawing 1-1 in the away leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.

But Sarri insisted that the German side are a threat away from home and should not be underestimated.

“They are very dangerous at home but, unfortunately, they are also very dangerous away,” said the Chelsea head coach.

“I have seen all Eintracht’s away matches in the Europa League. They are really very dangerous away.

“So it all depends on the second leg. We’ll play at Stamford Bridge and we want to play in the final but we know very well that we have to play a good match next week.”

Sarri also stood by his decision not to start with Eden Hazard, who came on as a second-half substitute in Germany, where Pedro equalised just before the interval to give Chelsea a potentiallycrucial away goal.

Sarri said: “Eden was on the bench because in the last period he had 10 matches in a row.

“This match for us was number 59 and he has also played eight matches with the national team. For a player it is impossible to play 70 to 75 matches in a season.

“So, like other players he needs to rest or not play for 90 minutes. The second reason is that Eden is usually able to change the match from the bench.

“For me it was better to start with Willian and then try in the last 30-35 minutes with Eden.”