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Marcos Alonso scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea beat Slavia Prague 1-0, while in another game, Arsenal 2-0 Napoli, Aaron Ramsey strike and Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gives Gunners advantage. Others, Benfica beat Frankfurt 4-2 and Villarreal lost to Valencia 3-1.
Slavia Prague 0-1 Chelsea:
— Late Marcos Alonso goal gives Blues victory
The return leg takes place on Thursday, April 18 after Chelsea play Liverpool on Sunday.
Marcos Alonso's late header handed Chelsea a narrow 1-0 victory in their Europa League quarter-final first-leg with Slavia Prague.
Alonso ghosted in to meet Willian's inch-perfect ball with four minutes of normal time remaining to give Chelsea a scarcely deserved win in the Czech Republic.
It was just their second attempt on target in a below par performance and for long periods it looked like Willian's bending effort which crashed against the bar would be the closest they came to a goal.
But the Brazilian was their best player on the night and his moment of quality means they'll head back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg with a slender advantage.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (6), Azpilicueta (6), Rudiger (6), Christensen (6), Alonso (6), Jorginho (5), Barkley (6), Kovacic (5), Pedro (5), Giroud (5), Willian (7).
Subs: Hazard (6), Kante (6), Loftus-Cheek (n/a).
Slavia Prague: Kolar (6), Coufal (5), Ngadeu-Ngadjui (6), Deli (6), Boril (7), Traore (6), Kral (6), Masopust (7), Sevcik (6), Stoch (6), Olayinka (6)
Subs: Zmrhal (6), Husbauer (6), Van Buren (n/a)
Slavia started quickly and had the first chance after two minutes - skipper Simon Deli could not direct his header on target from a wicked Miroslav Stoch ball into the back post.
The game was a turgid affair and Chelsea flattered to deceive for much of the half. They failed to muster a single shot on target, although Willian did strike the bar after cutting onto his right foot on the edge of the box.
They came out with renewed vigour after the break and began to look like the superior side. Olivier Giroud shot wide after a well-worked short corner, before Antonio Rudiger fired in a low volley that was cleared by Kolar's feet..
Eden Hazard was sent on with 30 minutes remaining and Willian almost gave Chelsea the lead immediately, dragging a left-foot shot wide from a tight angle.
Ibrahim Traore then tested Kepa with a well-struck drive from the edge of the area to remind Chelsea of the quality they possessed on the break and the Spaniard had to be alert to push Josef Husbauer's volley away.
But Chelsea struck late to take an advantage with them back to London. Willian looked to have few options on as he received the ball midway through Slavia's half. He looked up and clipped in a fantastic cross for Alonso, who showed good composure to nod the ball into the bottom corner.
Man of the match - Willian
The Brazilian looked the player most likely to break the deadlock for Chelsea and although he wasn't the match-winner, it was his cross that set up Alonso for the winner.
He had the beating off both of Slavia's full-backs, hit the bar, nearly squeezed an effort in from a tight angle and gave Sarri a headache in wide positions ahead of Sunday's trip to Liverpool.
Arsenal 2-0 Napoli
Aaron Ramsey strike and Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gives Gunners advantage
Return leg takes place on Thursday, April 18 after Arsenal play Watford on Monday Night Football
Arsenal scored two early goals to beat Napoli 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
Aaron Ramsey finished off a slick passing move in the 14th minute before Lucas Torreira's shot deflected in off Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Gunners could have scored more in an impressive first-half display, but Napoli improved as Lorenzo Insigne and Piotr Zielinski both spurned excellent chances from close range.
Ramsey also missed a fantastic opening when he fired over in the 81st minute.
The misses for both sides mean Arsenal, who face Watford on Monday Night Footballl, hold the advantage ahead of the return leg, but they might regret not taking more of their opportunities in a one-sided first half.
Ramsey and Ainsley Maitland-Niles both saw shots blocked in quick succession by Koulibaly before a slick passing move set up the opening goal in the 14th minute.
Mesut Ozil, Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette combined before Maitland-Niles teed up Ramsey to finish from inside the box.
Arsenal scored a second in the 25th minute as Torreira won possession in the Napoli half and then turned on the edge of the box and hit a shot that deflected off Koulibaly and beat Alex Meret.
The Gunners should have taken further advantage of a sloppy Napoli display but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw three shots saved and Lacazette swung and missed at an effort from inside the box.
Napoli spurned a glorious chance for an away goal when Insigne blazed over from around the penalty spot late in the first half.
The Serie A side improved after half-time but Arsenal still had chances as Meret tipped over a shot from Ramsey and Nacho Monreal headed over from 10 yards out when he was unmarked at a corner.
Meret then saved from Maitland-Niles before Napoli missed a superb chance when Insigne crossed for Zielinski and he turned over from 10 yards out.
Ramsey returned the favour as he fired over from an excellent position before Aubameyang shot into the side-netting from inside the box.
Man of the match - Lucas Torreira
It was a close call between Ramsey and Torreira, but the latter gets the nod for a strong display in the middle of the pitch. He regularly broke up play and made the second goal by himself as he won the ball and then drove towards goal before hitting a shot that deflected past the goalkeeper.
Marcos Alonso scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea beat Slavia Prague 1-0, while in another game, Arsenal 2-0 Napoli, Aaron Ramsey strike and Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gives Gunners advantage. Others, Benfica beat Frankfurt 4-2 and Villarreal lost to Valencia 3-1.
Slavia Prague 0-1 Chelsea:
— Late Marcos Alonso goal gives Blues victory
The return leg takes place on Thursday, April 18 after Chelsea play Liverpool on Sunday.
Marcos Alonso's late header handed Chelsea a narrow 1-0 victory in their Europa League quarter-final first-leg with Slavia Prague.
Alonso ghosted in to meet Willian's inch-perfect ball with four minutes of normal time remaining to give Chelsea a scarcely deserved win in the Czech Republic.
It was just their second attempt on target in a below par performance and for long periods it looked like Willian's bending effort which crashed against the bar would be the closest they came to a goal.
But the Brazilian was their best player on the night and his moment of quality means they'll head back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg with a slender advantage.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (6), Azpilicueta (6), Rudiger (6), Christensen (6), Alonso (6), Jorginho (5), Barkley (6), Kovacic (5), Pedro (5), Giroud (5), Willian (7).
Subs: Hazard (6), Kante (6), Loftus-Cheek (n/a).
Slavia Prague: Kolar (6), Coufal (5), Ngadeu-Ngadjui (6), Deli (6), Boril (7), Traore (6), Kral (6), Masopust (7), Sevcik (6), Stoch (6), Olayinka (6)
Subs: Zmrhal (6), Husbauer (6), Van Buren (n/a)
Slavia started quickly and had the first chance after two minutes - skipper Simon Deli could not direct his header on target from a wicked Miroslav Stoch ball into the back post.
The game was a turgid affair and Chelsea flattered to deceive for much of the half. They failed to muster a single shot on target, although Willian did strike the bar after cutting onto his right foot on the edge of the box.
They came out with renewed vigour after the break and began to look like the superior side. Olivier Giroud shot wide after a well-worked short corner, before Antonio Rudiger fired in a low volley that was cleared by Kolar's feet..
Eden Hazard was sent on with 30 minutes remaining and Willian almost gave Chelsea the lead immediately, dragging a left-foot shot wide from a tight angle.
Ibrahim Traore then tested Kepa with a well-struck drive from the edge of the area to remind Chelsea of the quality they possessed on the break and the Spaniard had to be alert to push Josef Husbauer's volley away.
But Chelsea struck late to take an advantage with them back to London. Willian looked to have few options on as he received the ball midway through Slavia's half. He looked up and clipped in a fantastic cross for Alonso, who showed good composure to nod the ball into the bottom corner.
Man of the match - Willian
The Brazilian looked the player most likely to break the deadlock for Chelsea and although he wasn't the match-winner, it was his cross that set up Alonso for the winner.
He had the beating off both of Slavia's full-backs, hit the bar, nearly squeezed an effort in from a tight angle and gave Sarri a headache in wide positions ahead of Sunday's trip to Liverpool.
Arsenal 2-0 Napoli
Aaron Ramsey strike and Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gives Gunners advantage
Return leg takes place on Thursday, April 18 after Arsenal play Watford on Monday Night Football
Arsenal scored two early goals to beat Napoli 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
The Gunners could have scored more in an impressive first-half display, but Napoli improved as Lorenzo Insigne and Piotr Zielinski both spurned excellent chances from close range.
Ramsey also missed a fantastic opening when he fired over in the 81st minute.
The misses for both sides mean Arsenal, who face Watford on Monday Night Footballl, hold the advantage ahead of the return leg, but they might regret not taking more of their opportunities in a one-sided first half.
Ramsey and Ainsley Maitland-Niles both saw shots blocked in quick succession by Koulibaly before a slick passing move set up the opening goal in the 14th minute.
Mesut Ozil, Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette combined before Maitland-Niles teed up Ramsey to finish from inside the box.
Arsenal scored a second in the 25th minute as Torreira won possession in the Napoli half and then turned on the edge of the box and hit a shot that deflected off Koulibaly and beat Alex Meret.
The Gunners should have taken further advantage of a sloppy Napoli display but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw three shots saved and Lacazette swung and missed at an effort from inside the box.
Napoli spurned a glorious chance for an away goal when Insigne blazed over from around the penalty spot late in the first half.
The Serie A side improved after half-time but Arsenal still had chances as Meret tipped over a shot from Ramsey and Nacho Monreal headed over from 10 yards out when he was unmarked at a corner.
Meret then saved from Maitland-Niles before Napoli missed a superb chance when Insigne crossed for Zielinski and he turned over from 10 yards out.
Ramsey returned the favour as he fired over from an excellent position before Aubameyang shot into the side-netting from inside the box.
Man of the match - Lucas Torreira
It was a close call between Ramsey and Torreira, but the latter gets the nod for a strong display in the middle of the pitch. He regularly broke up play and made the second goal by himself as he won the ball and then drove towards goal before hitting a shot that deflected past the goalkeeper.
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