Pedro and Willian prove Chelsea boss Sarri is right to ignore Hudson-Odoi
Blues take one one step into the Europa League quarter-finals as proven quality shines through to vindicate Sarri again leaving teenage prospect on the bench
WHISPER it quietly, but Maurizio Sarri might know what he is doing after all.
The Chelsea boss has been in the firing line for most of the season with his stubborn refusal to give up his ideology on how to play football.
And he has also copped plenty of stick for the way he has restricted the game time of home-grown hero Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The knives were being sharpened again among the Chelsea fans when Sarri left the 18-year-old on the bench for the Europa League clash with Dynamo Kiev.
Even Glenn Hoddle, a welcome sight back in the BT Sport studio after his health scare, claimed the teenager should have been unleashed from the start.
Instead Sarri stuck with the old timers in Willian and Pedro - and do you know what? He was right.
Hudson-Odoi may be a star in the making, a player with so much potential Bayern Munich are prepared to pay £40million for his services.
But this is the last-16 of the Europa League we are talking about, not some Micky Mouse pre-season tournament in far flung places.
This is Sarri's big chance of winning the first trophy of his managerial career, and delivering success in his debut year in England.
And it yet might be the London club's best chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season, looking at their tricky run-in to the domestic season.
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It is certainly no time to sacrifice the proven quality of international class players in Pedro and Willian for the exciting - but raw - potential of Hudson-Odoi.
The evidence was there for all to see, particularly in the first half, as the wily old heads turned it on to run Kiev ragged.
Pedro scored the opener with a fine finish and could have had three before the break as he and Willian provided the movement and quality to get Chelsea going.
And when the match threatened to drift away after the break, up stepped Brazil star Willian to curl a delightful free-kick into the top corner to take a firm grip on this game.
It gave the Blues the breathing space to throw on the fans' favourite late on, and he responded by slotting home a late third to all-but secure a place in the last eight.
But even that goal was down to a brilliant cross-field ball from Pedro to carve open the Kiev defence.
The ex-Barcelona star knows a little bit about delivering on big European night - and Sarri might just have an idea about what is best for the side after all.
He is thinking about this season, not the future. And that could yet mean a night of glory in May.