PSG were at home to Chelsea in the first leg of the Champion’s League round of 16
Before the game kicked off the English team were deemed as favorites to qualify for the next round, with the form they are in you can understand why. The English team are top of their domestic league and have been in top form all season, PSG are currently 3rd in the French Ligue 1.
The atmosphere was incredible throughout the game, the Parisians are renowned for making lots of noise to get behind their team, Parc des Princess was a cauldron of boos and cheers from start to finish.
The early possession was pretty even, but the French side were the first team to grab some clear cut chances. Matuidi forced a good save from Courtois before Ibrahimovic rose well to test the keeper once more.
The initial stages of the game got the French fans excited because it appeared Zlatan brought his A-Game for the big game. Up until today he has only ever scored against one English team when he scored for Barcelona against Arsenal.
PSG were passing the ball very well in the first half, using the pitch fantastically while Chelsea were forced in to using the long ball more often than they would have liked. PSG were guilty of giving away stupid free kicks when Chelsea got in to their half.
Chelsea took the lead in the 36th minute from the unlikeliest of link ups. Zlatan gave away a foolish free kick, which lead to the ball being whipped in to the box. It was initially cleared before John Terry crossed it back in to the danger zone, Gary Cahill did incredibly well to flick the ball on to Bratislav Ivanovic who headed home. Three defenders linked up to break the deadlock.
Chelsea were mostly defending from there on out in the first hald, with PSG pushing forward trying to get the equalizer. Zlatan stepped up to take a close range free kick with the Paris contingent holding their breath, sadly for them he blazed over.
2nd Half
The second half started out as a very scrappy affair as Chelsea sat back and invited pressure. However they were quick on the counter attack and PSG continued to give away needless free kicks.
The referee was very lenient as he could have given a lot more yellow cards a lot earlier than he did. PSG’s Van Der Wiel was the first player to pick up a card.
PSG were relentless pushing forward and their efforts paid off in the 54th minute when Cavani headed home from a Matuidi cross. Maxwell did well to play Matuidi in initially. Chelsea were sitting back from the beginning of the second half and were made to pay by some good PSG play.
Moments later the French side came close again, but both Courtois and Terry pulled off some heroics to keep the game at 1-1. PSG continued to push forward which caused both Ivanovic and Fabregas to get booked.
Chelsea seemed to be holding out for a draw from the moment they conceded the goal. Diego Costa was playing very deep helping out the defense was a clear indication of the London clubs intentions. Though they sporadically got forward on the counter attack, often leading to PSG making poor challenges. This was never more evident than when Marco Verratti got booked for a poorly timed challenge Cesc Fabregas.
PSG were doing all the attacking but with very few clear cut chances, however Zlatan Ibrahamovic came so close to heading a winner with one of the last actions of the game.
Chelsea will be happy to take an away goal in to the second leg of the game. PSG have a lot to do if they hope to progress. The tie is nicely balanced for the return leg in two weeks.
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