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MOTD- Chelsea 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain (agg 3-3)

By on April 8, 2014

Chelsea have done it again. Two years ago, they came home to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their Champions League tie against a Napoli side featuring Edison Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi with a 3-1 deflect to climb. Somehow, Chelsea managed to turn around and win the tie. Tonight, The Blues came home to Stamford Bridge losing 3-1 in their Champions League tie verses a side with Edison Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi playing up front. The only difference – they were playing the cash rich Paris Saint-Germain this time.

It might have been an even harder task tonight than in 2012, but that didn’t stop Chelsea from performing the same incredible feat that they did two years ago. With a 2-0 win, the Londoners will once again progress to the next round of the Champions League, this time, the semifinals. The sky suddenly looks open for Jose Mourinho’s side to go on and win the competition, the one thing they failed to do in 2012. And with another win like that in 2012, and tonight, it is all within the club’s reach.

True, PSG were missing their star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to injury, but that hardly makes Chelsea’s win any less satisfactory. In fact, the home side also lost their best player as Eden Hazard was forced off due to injury just a quarter hour into the comeback win. However, it only made Chelsea better as Hazard’s replacement André Schürrle performed brilliantly.

The winger watched as PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu barely managed to palm Frank Lampard’s deflected free-kick from the left around the near post, but when the match, which had been slow paced at the start, opened up, Schürrle made his mark. Branislav Ivanovic launched a long throw-in from the right into the box, where it deflected off the back of David Luiz and to the feet of Schürrle, who cooly tucked the ball into the bottom right corner. It was only the thirty-second minute, but Chelsea were already well on their way to completing a comeback.

PSG found themselves lucky not to allow that second goal, which would send Chelsea through to the semis, moments later when the referee neglected to call a penalty when Marco Verratti dragged Schürrle down on the left side of the box, and again when Gary Cahill screwed a ten yard volley wide of the target in the thirty-sixth minute. Chelsea were probing for their winner, backed by the home fans chanting “We’ve done it before”.

The English club came inches away from finding that crucial goal as the match moved onto the second half, with Schürrle slamming Willian’s cut-back first time onto the crossbar seven minutes into the second period. Seconds later Chelsea found the bar once again via Oscar’s wonderful curling free-kick, but the ball just wasn’t finding it’s way in. Mourinho then brought on Demba Ba for Lampard in bid to get that goal, yet PSG had a chance to capitalize on Chelsea’s misses and put the game to bed, only for Cavani to blast over from eighteen yards after Yohan Cabaye’s incredible lobbed fourth-yard pass put the forward in one-on-one with Petr Cech.  Fernando Torres then came on for Chelsea, and although time looked to be running out Mourinho’s substitution’s paid off.  With just three minutes to go, César Azpilicueta’s low effort was deflected into the path of Ba, who poked it past Sirigu from six yards to give Chelsea the vital goal they much desired to give them the win.  Mourinho joined in the celebrations, which will surely continue for much longer.  At least for Chelsea, that is.
Man of the Match: André Schürrle

 

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.