Chelsea 0 PSG 3 (2-8)
A chastening night for Chelsea football club. I said last week that Chelsea actually played quite well for the majority of the game at the Parc De Prince but individual mistakes cost them the tie most likely in the last 20 minutes. Tonight was a completely different game as PSG finished the tie in the first 15 minutes, PSG got off to the best possible start six minutes in as the goalkeeper Safonov launched a ball down the pitch leaving Sarr to battle with Kvarastkhelia with the Chelsea defender taking a terrible touch allowing the PSG forward to get goalside and fire into the bottom corner on his left-foot. That all but finished the tie but PSG weren’t finished as they grabbed a second ten minutes later as Hakimi marauded down the right-hand-side passing the ball inside to Barcola who’s touch propped the ball up allowing him to hit it with the outside of his boot into the far corner to score an outrageous goal and most definitely finish the tie in the 15th minute. PSG could have scored 3 or 4 in the first half but poor finishing stopped it becoming a cricket score in the first half, it didn’t take long for PSG to add a third as substitute Senny Mayulu fired a missile past Robert Sanchez in the 60th minute to make it 2-8 on aggregate to PSG. Stamford Bridge emptied out after that goal as Chelsea were humbled at the Bridge by the reigning champions.
PSG fast becoming favourites for the Champions League again. This was a real statement from PSG as last weeks game was a real 50/50 until the last 15 minutes whereas this was complete domination for 90 minutes against the side which beat them in the Club World Cup Final over the summer, Enrique had to start Kvarastkhelia after last week and he repaid him in just five minutes scoring the opening goal. That front three is PSG’s best combination in my opinion with Barcola from the right, Dembele down the middle and Kvara on the left, I honestly don’t think there’s a defence in Europe that can contain that attack and they were far too good for Chelsea tonight. Joao Neves has made a real impact since returning from injury and PSG look a completely different team with him in the side and it allows Vitinha to dictate the midfield which he did perfectly tonight, a real surprise to me anyway was Safonov who was immense keeping Chelsea at bay with some really top saves on the night, you can see why he starts over Chevalier at the minute, this team is going to take some stopping if they continue at this level.
A crushing tie for Chelsea. Before the first leg I thought Chelsea had a real chance of going through and they showed their quality in that first leg at times but sometimes you just have to admire the team you’re facing on the night, saying that there were some really poor performances from some players tonight like Palmer, Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro which left Chelsea with really no chance of even some resemblance of a comeback on the night. The defence that Rosenior went with is nowhere near Champions League level with Cucurella the only real player with any experience at this level as Chalobah, Sarr and Hato looked miles off it on the night as PSG created chance after chance especially in that first half. You’d think this would be a wake up call for Chelsea’s owners to get some experience in the team over the summer, especially in the backline which is crying out for a leader in the mould of what Thiago Silva was a few years ago for Chelsea, at some point you have to start buying the finished product if you want to compete for major honours, I’m not sure if Chelsea’s owners quite realise that yet.
Will Liam Rosenior even last until the summer? Maybe it’s a bit harsh but I just don’t see Rosenior as a long-term Chelsea manager, I saw what Enzo Marseca was trying to do with this Chelsea team and he won two trophies last season along with finishing in the top 4 in the Premier League but that’s not to say he didn’t have games were you were questioning him like against Man United at Old Trafford earlier in the season where he subbed off all his attackers after Robert Sanchez got sent off but I actually saw the vision in him being the Chelsea manager, for Rosenior I just don’t understand some of the things he’s doing or saying. The huddle around the ball is absurd and has made Chelsea the laughing stock of the Premier League over the last week as Rosenior comes out saying his players are, “ respecting the ball”, it’s ridiculous and something which just diminishes how he’s seen by the media which is ramping up the pressure on him over recent weeks. If Chelsea don’t qualify for the Champions League this season I wouldn’t be surprised if Rosenior is shown the door after just half a season, we’ll wait and see I suppose.
Liverpool or Galatasaray next for PSG. I’m sure both teams were watching the match tonight with a bit of fear as to what could happen if they were to face PSG in the next round as neither Gala or Liverpool look particularly brilliant at the minute. We saw PSG vs Liverpool last season in the Champions League as PSG went through on penalties at Anfield but this Liverpool side are nowhere near as good as last season and they still need to turn the tie around against Galatasaray tomorrow. For Gala it would be amazing to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League and why not take it to PSG especially at home where no team is ever comfortable facing the Turkish side, PSG will be the favourites no matter which side they’’ll face but a lot of things can change until the quarter-finals in April, we’ll find out who the Parisians face tomorrow night at Anfield.