Three takeaways from Paris Saint-Germain’s win over Chelsea
By Ryan Wrenn
Fans of Paris Saint-Germain might feel a familiar unease despite the 2-1 lead they took against Chelsea on Tuesday.
This is the third time in as many seasons that the PSG and Chelsea have met in the knockout round of Europe’s preeminent club competition. While they split the honors in those previous two matchups, both were 3-3 cumulative draws that were decided by away goals. There is thus very good reason to think that, despite defeat, John Obi Mikel’s goal just before halftime might be just enough reason for Chelsea fans to be optimistic ahead of the return match at Stamford Bridge in three weeks.
The Champions League knockout round feels almost like a sport different than regular soccer. Beyond the structure of home and away games, the slight advantage a goal on the road grants you and the general pageantry surrounding every match, these are real do or die affairs. While teams can grind out results through the course of a full season, shrugging off draws and the occasional loss, there is no such leeway here. Mistakes and triumphs that would never be possible in a regular domestic match happen on the regular in Champions League. Teams like Bayern Munich fall short despite them being, you know, Bayern Munich, and scrappy underdogs like Juventus tend to find surprising alternate routes to the final.
That this particular matchup between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea has happened three years running is a fluke of the draw, but it has created a real rivalry between two sides that would otherwise not exist. Fans of Chelsea will remember how Jose Mourinho stole a march on PSG two years ago and earned an incredible 2-0 home win in the second leg of the quarter-finals after suffering a 3-1 defeat in Paris. Fans of Paris Saint-Germain could also revel in last season’s Round of 16, where David Luiz scored at the death of the second leg to force the match into extra time, with Thiago Silva eventually scoring a spectacular goal in the 114th minute that sent his team through to the next round.
Tuesday’s match set the stage for a similarly dramatic finish in London. Let’s take a look at what set these teams apart and what might eventually tip the scales.
Next: PSG ascending