It was a tale of two streaks when Paris Saint German squared up with Chelsea in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Knockout Encounter.
Chelsea, under Guus Hiddink were enjoying their longest streak without a loss and hoped to continue their good form in France. PSG on the other hand were in more imperious form, sitting 24 points clear at the top of the French League and having not lost a game in what seems like forever.
In plain terms, Chelsea were the underdogs and PSG seemed intent on not letting them forget as they strung pass after pass together in breathtaking fashion. Chelsea looked overwhelmed in the early stages at the Park des Princes but they gradually grew into the game by the 20th minute.
Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi proved to be the match’s villain when he fouled Lucas Moura six minutes before the end of the first half and the resulting freekick by Ibrahimovich took a slight deflection off Mikel Obi to wrong foot Courtois and gift PSG the first goal.
In redemptive fashion, Mikel Obi scored Chelsea’s crucial away goal in the closing stages of the first half from close range after some atrocious defending from PSG. A Mikel goal is not something you see often!
In the end, PSG’s desire outweighed Chelsea’s and their attacking intent did not dim in the second half as they attempted wave after wave of attack. The introduction of Edinson Cavani was a turning point in the game as he received a marvelous pass from Di Maria to slot the ball through Courtois’s legs in the 78th minute.
