Chelsea, Arsenal, Napoli, Inter cruise into Europa League Round of 16

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Chelsea shook off their recent troubles and easily advanced in the Europa League with a 3-0 second leg victory over 10-man Malmo on Thursday, a result that takes some pressure off embattled coach Maurizio Sarri.

After a scoreless first half, Olivier Giroud tapped in a cross from Willian in the 55th minute before Ross Barkley made it 2-0 from a free kick. Callum Hudson-Odoi finished it off in the 84th, with Willian setting up his goal as well.

Giroud and Barkley also scored in a 2-1 victory in the first leg, with Chelsea advancing to the round of 16 with a 5-1 win on aggregate.

The result provides some relief for Sarri, the Italian coach who was subjected to abuse from Chelsea supporters after the side's FA Cup loss to Manchester United at home on Monday.

"We played the first 30 minutes without confidence, nervous," Sarri said. "After the first goal, we played very well – we started to move the ball very fast, with confidence."

On Sunday, Chelsea plays the League Cup final against Manchester City and then faces a Premier League meeting with crosstown rival Tottenham – two games that could yet determine whether Sarri's stay at Stamford Bridge will be over before his first season ends.

Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi applauds fans after the final whistle of their Europa League clash with Malmo, February 21, 2019. /VCG Photo

Sarri's position was already being called into question after the 6-0 loss at City in the Premier League on February 10. Even worse, the team dropped to sixth in the Premier League in recent weeks and is out of the top four Champions League places.

On Thursday, Chelsea looked in control but couldn't find a breakthrough until Giroud netted in the 55th.

Malmo defender Rasmus Bengtsson was sent off after picking his second yellow card in the 73rd, giving Barkley a chance to score from the subsequent free kick a minute later. Hudson-Odoi collected Willian's perfect cross six minutes from time before surging forward to fire a low shot into the net.

Arsenal's Sokratis Papastathopoulos (L) celebrates with teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after scoring his team's third goal during their Europa League clash with Borisov, February 21, 2019. /VCG Photo

Earlier Thursday, Arsenal rebounded from a 1-0 loss to BATE Borisov a week ago with a comprehensive 3-0 second-leg victory.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang forced an early own goal before center backs Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos added one apiece for Arsenal to advance 3-1 on aggregate.

Italian clubs Napoli and Inter also had no problems to make the next phase while last year's semifinalist Salzburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, Valencia, Villarreal, Dinamo Zagreb, Zenit, Benfica, Kiev, Rennes, Krasnodar and Slavia Prague all made it through.

Former champion Sevilla advanced after knocking out Lazio on Wednesday.

The draw for the last 16 is scheduled for Friday.

Source(s): AP