Chelsea suffered an 8-2 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16, after the latter won 3-0 in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
After losing 5-2 in Paris, Chelsea’s already impossible task of overturning a three-goal deficit quickly became impossible as PSG scored twice within the first 14 minutes in west London.
PSG’s third goal of the second half gave Chelsea a total of eight points in two games. This is the most goals conceded in the second round of the Champions League finals.
It was no surprise to hear Chelsea booed at both half-time and full-time, but Blues manager Liam Rosenior saw himself heckled for his triple substitution in the second half, when Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandes were removed.
The damage was compounded in the closing stages when defender Trevor Chalovah was stretchered off, leaving Chelsea with 10 men after all the changes.
“I think he was really worried. I checked with the medical team and they will be examined and evaluated tomorrow. We hope and pray that it’s not as bad as we initially feared,” Rosenior said of Charova’s injury.
It was a miserable day for Rosenior. A leak of the Chelsea squad hours before kick-off meant that Jorel Hato would start alongside Chalobah in central defense and Mamadou Sarr would be moved out of position at right-back, proving to be correct for the second week in a row.
However, the 20-year-old’s use at full-back quickly backfired as a mistake from Hviča Kvaratschelia allowed the Reds the lead in the sixth minute, with Sarr eventually replaced by Josh Achiampong at half-time.
When asked about Sarr’s appointment, Rosenior said in the post-match press conference: “Mamadou played in that position for me and he showed a great performance against PSG.
“We felt his experience, his feel for the players was going to help him. When you make mistakes that early on with a player, it can be a really difficult night for you.
“Maro Gusto was down at the start of the match and was very unwell. We gave him as much time as possible to recover.
“You want to take these decisions and get them right, but in that moment Mamadou made a mistake and it was a difficult night because it gave PSG confidence.”
Liam Rosenior reacts to Chelsea’s decision in Champions League match against PSG
PSG’s second goal came in the 14th minute when Achraf Hakimi broke through from the right flank and teed up Bradley Barcola, who fired a superb half-volley into the top corner.
The French champions showed why they are more than capable of retaining the Champions League title, with Luis Enrique’s side completely in control with a five-goal lead, much to the frustration of Chelsea fans.
Saturday, March 21st 5pm
5:30pm kickoff
Their anger deepened in the second half, when PSG substitute Seni Mayur scored a superb third goal just two minutes after Rosenior’s 60th-minute harrowing three-point exchange.
The teenager’s goal sent Chelsea fans streaming out of Stamford Bridge as their Champions League campaign came to a humiliating end.
However, PSG avenged their loss to Chelsea in last summer’s Club World Cup final and advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face either Liverpool or Galatasaray.
What happened in the Chelsea huddle?
Chelsea change pre-match huddle for match against PSG
Chelsea held a pre-match huddle in the center circle ahead of their Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain, but they did not surround the ball as they did in Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle.
Referee Paul Tierney farcically found himself trapped in his teams’ pre-match talk in the middle of the pitch on Saturday.
Rossenyol has been forced to defend his team’s actions, but ahead of the kick-off against PSG, the ceremony was changed and took place just inside the French half, just off center.
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Tim Sherwood has slammed Chelsea’s controversial pre-match huddle before their game against Newcastle, calling it “embarrassing” and “absolute nonsense”.
Rosenia protects sub | “Qualification for CL is the bare minimum”
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior spoke at the post-match press conference about the boos he received for making three substitutions.
“They’ve played over 100 games in 18 months. They’ve never had a break when it comes to international matches, trips like João Pedro, Enzo Fernandes and Moises Caicedo are going to South America. “That’s no excuse. “It’s a by-product of the Rudo Cup success and the great things the club achieved in the Club World Cup. But what I also see with Reece (James) and the players is that if I don’t manage their time, there’s a huge chance of them getting injured.
“So we want to make sure we at least qualify for this competition next season. We’re still fighting to get into the FA Cup. But we’re probably going to have to make very difficult decisions and to be honest I think it’s probably not good at that point. You never want to take your best players out when you’re five points behind in a tie, but I want to make the right decision for the football club in the long term.”
Enrique: I didn’t expect to win by such a margin.
PSG players celebrate Bradley Barcola’s first-half goal at Stamford Bridge
PSG coach Luis Enrique said this in the post-match press conference.
“Of course I’m proud. We didn’t expect a result like that. If you think about the first game, the first 80 minutes, we were tying the game. In the last 10 minutes, we beat them.”
“The key for us today was to keep different moments of play in the game. Even when they pressed us, we were able to hold onto the ball and target the spaces for a counter-attack.”
“We achieved that and scored two goals. It’s always difficult to control the game in this part of the competition.”
Timeline of a tough night at Stamford Bridge
The story of the game in terms of statistics…
When is the knockout stage?
Quarterfinals: April 7th-8th, 14th-15th
Semi-finals: April 28-29, May 5-6
Final: May 30th (Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary)
