There is not a Champions League trophy for every success-hungry oil billionaire who wants one these days but Roman Abramovich might well have recognised the determination which Qatar’s French football project set about the old-new money of his Chelsea in Paris.
Laurent Blanc’s team tried to wipe Chelsea out of this tie over the course of 90 minutes and it took one of the best performances from the deposed champions of England to keep it a contest when they reconvene at Stamford Bridge on March 9. Given the quality of PSG on the night a defeat by this 2-1 scoreline will have been quite palatable to Guus Hiddink as he ponders how best to prolong his team’s life in this competition.
Ibrahimovic puts the hosts ahead
PSG turned up in demolition mode: Angel Di Maria picking passes, Lucas Moura committing defenders and Zlatan Ibrahimovic doing what Zlatan does, scoring the first goal among other things. Chelsea had to run hard just to stand still and you might say that there was a touch of the miracle about their only goal. It came from the boot of John Obi Mikel for whose goals are football’s lunar eclipses in terms of their rarity value.
Edinson Cavani, on as a substitute, got the winner, and Chelsea might just be able to live with that deficit at Stamford Bridge come next month, because it could have been much worse.
PSG attacking stats
The Champions League returned for the new year edition, not with a whimper but a bang at the Parc des Princes where the home side went after Chelsea in the first 15 minutes like a side who were chasing an equaliser in injury-time. It was a splendid first half of attacking football, and Chelsea held their own.
Only just at the start of the game when PSG seemed to think that this English side whose decline they had witnessed from afar could be easily pushed over quickly and they went at them hard. Gary Cahill had to launch himself into an early tackle on Lucas Moura. Marco Verratti had a good shot saved, Ibrahimovic struck a free-kick over the bar.
John Obi Mikel levels the scores at 1-1
It was coming thick and fast and Chelsea were obliged to tuck in on the wings where Pedro and WIllian patrolled and tried to form that defensive knot that would close up the centre of the pitch. There are some seriously good passers in this PSG team, however, and Blaise Matuidi opened Chelsea up with an outside-in ball down the left on 13 minutes to Maxwell. Then Angel Di Maria threaded another through to Lucas.
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Chelsea could take heart in the fact that the masked Diego Costa was running himself into the ground at the other end – a lone ranger minus his horse. He had the ball nicked off him early on by Thiago Silva but Chelsea’s Brazilian never became disheartened. Ibrahimovic picked up a cheap booking for tripping Mikel.
Possession stats at Parc des Princes
It was around 20 minutes that Chelsea decided enough was enough and came out fighting. They passed the ball beautifully at times, indeed they had to because PSG were out to turnover possession as quickly as possible. It was notable that Hiddink’s players kept their heads in these circumstances and kept it crisp and quick. From Baba Rahman’s cross on 23 minutes, Costa headed from close range and goalkeeper Kevin Trapp swiped the ball up onto the bar.
The game was open – ridiculously so for a first leg – but it was thrilling stuff. From Eden Hazard’s blocked shot on 36 minutes, PSG went straight down the end and from Ibrahimovic to Verratti and on to Di Maria, the Argentine shot wide. The breakthrough came six minutes before the break when Mikel fouled Moura, and was booked, and Ibrahimovic struck the free-kick through the wall.
Cavani came off the bench to score the winner
It clipped Mikel on the way in and wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois who had no chance once the ball changed direction. But Chelsea responded well and equalised with almost the last kick of the half. They pushed hard to win the corner which was badly defended by PSG and allowed Mikel in to score from close range.
A rare event, these goals for Mikel, just his sixth for Chelsea in ten years at the club but nicely timed to coincide with his re-emergence under Hiddink. This one was a brief interlude in a hard night’s work for the midfielder who was booked for the foul on Moura that led to the PSG first half goal and after half-time it was back to shutting down the French side at all costs.
There was a fine performance from Cahill who was excellent alongside Branislav Ivanovic, also more solid back in the centre of defence. No John Terry but plenty that was Terry-esque from the two defenders who launched themselves in the way of shots and crosses, none more so than when Matuidi unloaded in the area on 64 minutes and Cahill got in the way.
Chelsea attacking stats
The intensity seemed to suit Chelsea who worked extremely hard at all times, all but Hazard who drifted in and out and too often left Azpilicueta exposed on the right side. The winger eventually came off and was replaced by Oscar who went to the left when Pedro switched sides. PSG pushed hard to close the tie out and even the excellent Moura found himself replaced by Cavani for the last period of the game.
Only Willian had managed to offer Chelsea relief, especially with one brilliant run from his own half on 49 minutes when he pushed past two challenges and slipped the ball left to Costa who could not get a shot past Trapp. At the other end Courtois saved from Di Maria on 52 minutes and still PSG kept coming.
PSG were not to be denied in the end and the goal was from yet another fine ball through the centre from Di Maria. This one was chipped into the right channel where Cavani, fresh to the game, took the ball wide and then drilled it back through the legs of Courtois who had come out to narrow down the strikers options. PSG did want to stop there but Chelsea are still in the tie.
PSG vs Chelsea Champions League
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