Talking Points: Did Frankfurt miss the likes of Ante Rebic and Sebastien Haller in this crucial fixture?

Pedro scored what could be a crucial away goal for the Blues at the end of the second half.

The first leg of the Europa League semifinals saw both Eintracht Frankfurt and Chelsea sharing the spoils over a 1-1 draw with everything to play for in the second leg at the Stamford Bridge.

Maurizio Sarri started the game with their known swagger as Frankfurt took time to settle in those nerves of a crunch semifinal fixture at home. It was a terrific atmosphere created by the fans as their poster boy, Luka Jovic broke the deadlock on the 23rd-minute mark giving the supporters all the more reason to smile. The Serbian marksman smartly slotted his header past Kepa on the far post from a pinpoint Filip Kostic cross.

Just when Adi Hutter's men started to dictate terms in the remainder of the first half it was collective brilliance from Ruben Loftus Cheek and Pedro as the latter came up with a stunning finish to restore parity for the visitors. The second half was dominated by the Blues throughout as they squandered several chances to put the tie to bed. However, Frankfurt were denied a clear penalty call, an incident which could have changed the total complexion of the match. However, it ended with the 1-1 scoreline as both teams shared the spoils.

Watch: Frankfirt 1-1 Chelsea Europa League first leg highlights

5. Did Frankfurt miss the likes of Ante Rebic and Sebastien Haller in this crucial fixture?

It is very obvious that this season the Eagles are known for their holy trinity which includes Luka Jovic alongside Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic. The trio have done wonders under Adi Hutter's tutelage raising the club to a different level this season. However, the Austrian tactician was very unfortunate not to get the services of two of his best players in attack. Which meant Jovic was all alone throughout the game until Paciencia joined him up front in the second half.

Rebic missed out the crucial fixture due to suspension as his exclusion made Hutter to change the complete formation as Kostic and Da Costa played as inverted wingbacks. On the other hand, Haller missed out due to his injury which acted as a bigger blow as the Frenchman has bagged 5 goals in the Europa League. Both these players compliments Jovic and his abilities really well making Frankfurt a real threat going forward.

4. Should Ruben Loftus-Cheek be a regular starter at Chelsea next season?

The youngster started this all-important clash and was Chelsea's best player on the field. His ball control and the maturity at this age makes him a top talent in England right now. Maurizio Sarri must hold on to these young talented players and give them as much time needed to shine under his guidance. Loftus-Cheek has often fared out better than his fellow teammates like Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley and hence he deserves a shot at the starting eleven regularly next season for the Blues.

The England international was inches away from scoring and later in the first half, he was the architect behind Pedro's goal. He was the best player donning the Chelsea shirt on the night.

3. Did Adi Hutter get his tactics wrong?

Hutter started with a three-man back line along with inverted wingbacks in form of Kostic and Da Costa, as he wanted to use their pace to threaten the opposition. However both the players helped out their defence when needed. The experienced Makoto Hasebe was given the job to shield his backline while Sebastian Rode and Gelson Fernandes made up the whole midfield for Frankfurt. Hutter prefers a very attacking brand of football and kept a pretty high defensive line which keeping the possession. But players like Hasebe and Kostic were very sloppy with the ball as they lost possession very cheaply which gave rise to Chelsea counter-attacks.

The Blues were hitting at that weakness time and again as they eventually equalised. However, the real problem occurred when Gelson was subbed off by Paciencia leaving more space in midfield for the Chelsea midfield trio of Kante, Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek to overrun them. The Eagles should consider themselves very lucky that the Blues did not make them pay for their mistake.

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2. Did Sarri miss a trick by not substituting Higuain in place of Giroud in the second half?

Olivier Giroud is sometimes underappreciated for his abilities to see off against certain teams. Sarri similarly had that idea in mind and field the bg Frenchman to lead the Chelsea attack. But the 32-year old hardly made any impact in the game, and in fact, he was very sloppy, to say the least.

Despite his shabby, below par performance Sarri chose not to bring in Gonzalo Higuain who was in the bench. The Argentine is known for his sharp movements and positioning something which was needed to break the congested Frankfurt defence. Higuain could have given Chelsea a different dimension in the game in the dying minutes.

1. Can Adi Hutter's men stage another Europa League comeback in the second leg?

Frankfurt are on a dream run this season and there is one thing which has brought them this far and that is their fearless attitude. In the second leg at the Stamford Bridge, the pressure will be on Chelsea as the odds are in favour of them to win the tie. However, Hutter's men have shown that they have the grit and valour to churn out a result against Benfica when they churned out a 2-0 win after a crushing 2-4 defeat in the reverse fixture.

However, if that happens Chelsea will have themselves to blame, as the likes of Willian, Pedro and Loftus-cheek missed a horde of chances. Sarri's men had the opportunity to finish the tie in the first leg itself but their lack of intensity in front of goal let them down.