Published On: Thu, Mar 12th, 2015

Champions League: End of the Road for Chelsea as PSG Moves to Quarter Finals

Morinoh chicken out of Champions League

Morinoh chicken out of Champions League


LAGOS 12TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Thiago Silva scored in the second half of extra time to give 10-man Paris Saint-Germain a 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League tie at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, sending the French champions through to the quarter-finals on away goals.
The visitors made a strong start to the match, needing at least one away goal to stand a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, but John Terry blocked an early effort by Edinson Cavani. Chelsea started to see more of the ball as the opening spell progressed though, but Ramires could not find Eden Hazard with a flick on, while Oscar was flagged for offside as Diego Costa played the ball in. PSG’s hopes were dealt a blow just over half an hour into the contest when a mis-timed tackle from Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw the striker sent off, having caught Oscar with his studs. The incident resulted in tempers flaring, and the remainder of the first half continued in a heated manner, with the referee having to reach for his cards several times before the break.
Terry was able to make another block for the hosts, preventing a dangerous-looking cross from Maxwell finding its target, while Oscar forced a stop with a curling effort from the edge of the box.
Costa thought that he should have been a awarded a penalty just before the break when he appeared to be dragged down by Cavani, but the referee was not interested. Salvatore Sirigu was called into action early in the second half as substitute Willian went for goal direct from a free kick, but the PSG keeper pushed the Brazilian’s effort away. Cavani thought that he was through to break the deadlock just ahead of the hour mark as Marco Verratti slotted the ball through for the Uruguayan, who rounded Thibaut Courtois before attempting to slice the ball in from a tight angle, but it brushed the post before going out the other side of the goal.
Jose Mourinho’s side appeared to be tiring as the second half progressed, despite them having a player more on the pitch, but PSG could not make the most of their opponents’ weary spell, as Courtois claimed a Marquinhos cross before punching a Javier Pastore effort away. Tempers flared again as the final 15 minutes approached, with Costa and former Chelsea defender David Luiz clashing, before Verratti picked up a booking that would rules him out of the first leg of the quarter-final tie. Chelsea started to threaten again as the final 10 minutes approached, with Ramires slipping through on the right before firing a shot towards the Paris goal, only for Sirigu to save.
The hosts did break the deadlock a minute later though as PSG failed to clear after Costa scuffed his chance, allowing Gary Cahill to hit the ball on the half-volley, leaving Sirigu rooted to the spot. The lead was short-lived as Luiz headed in from a corner down the other end five minutes later, powering the ball in off the underside of the bar against his old club. Costa wanted a spot kick again as the end of the match neared, but the referee was not swayed by his appeals after he tangled with Marquinhos. With the game heading into extra time, the home side were gifted the opportunity to edge back in front as Thiago Silva attempted to beat Kurt Zouma in the air, but led with his arms, slapping the ball away to concede a penalty. Hazard stepped up to take the spot kick. He coolly despatched the spot kick, rolling it in as Sirigu went the wrong way for the visitors. Luiz attempted to add a second for PSG, which would have given the visitors the advantage on away goals, but his 30-yard free kick was tipped over by Courtois. Silva had a chance to make amends for giving away the penalty earlier in extra time as he unleashed a powerful shot as PSG threw everyone forward, but Courtois pulled off a save at full stretch to deny the visiting captain. The Belgian keeper could not keep Silva’s header out from the resulting corner though as the defender’s looping header from the middle of the box left Courtois stranded. Willian tried to create something in the final minutes to give Chelsea hope, but his cross in towards Costa was claimed by Sirigu, ensuring that the visitors held on to book their place in the next round.

About the Author

labakevwe

-

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Close