The Dynamo Kiev manager was confident coming into this Europa League first leg, saying that his team were on level peggings with Chelsea. Sarri called Kepa back up to the squad in goal ahead of Willy Caballero. It seemed as though any bad blood following the EFL Cup Final had been buried.
The first 15 minutes of the match were largely quiet with a couple of corners and free-kicks but both sides' defence kept concentration to sniff out any potential danger and the keepers could watch the game unfold from either end.
Pedro had other ideas for Chelsea as he drew first blood for the home side in the 17th minute after a lovely give-and-go with Olivier Giroud. He didn't stop there and began to really threaten Kiev's goal with a point blank shot, requiring a low save from Boyko. The keeper's reaction had to be lightning fast in order to keep his side in it.
This would be the precedent set by the Kiev keeper for the remainder of the half as he produced some fine saves to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
Chelsea were relentless in their efforts on goal, meaning that Kiev's chances came few and far between. Their closest first-half opportunity on goal came with a Kedziora cross which floated over the area but nobody could get there for Kiev and Kepa had next to nothing to do during the first-half.
Kiev will have welcomed the break for half-time as Chelsea were really starting to click into gear. Sarri's side would look to continue their pressure into the second-half.
As with the first-half, Chelsea did exactly that and dominated possession from the get-go. The Blues didn't afford Kiev much time on the ball at all in the first 10 minutes, while Pedro continued to be Chelsea's playmaker, testing the Kiev keeper.
Boyko had done well all night against Chelsea's unrelenting efforts. However, Willian treated us to an absolutely top-class free-kick which even the world's best keeper would never get close to, and doubled Chelsea's lead.
From that point onwards, Kiev struggled to find a routine in the game and Chelsea boasted majority possession. Perhaps Chelsea's clearest chance following Willian's goal came as Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed a sitter after linking up beautifully with Pedro.
Kiev's defence, who had put in a decent shift all night, began to tire and Chelsea took full advantage towards the end of regulation play. The entire team, from defence through to attack, linked up to seal the deal on Chelsea's third. From the right wing, Pedro curled a perfectly weighted ball into Ruben Loftus-Cheek who controlled it beautifully before placing into the path of Callum Hudson-Odoi who didn't need to be asked twice to slot it past a resilient Boyko for the final goal of the game.
Kiev can be proud of the way they defended for the most part of tonight's clash, but will need to improve vastly if they are to challenge Chelsea's lead in the second leg, which will be contested in Kiev on March 14th.