Chelsea take slight edge with away draw vs. PSG in Champions League
Chelsea held Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw Tuesday night in France, grabbing a vital away goal thanks to a first-half header from Branislav Ivanovic. Chelsea now will take a slight edge back to London with them while PSG will rue that they were unable to convert more of their many good chances.
Keeper Thibaut Courtois was Chelsea’s MVP on the night, foiling Blaise Matuidi, Edinson Cavani and the mighty Zlatan Ibrahimovic to keep his Blues in the match.
"What amazes me that Courtois, despite his height, is still very quick," PSG boss Laurent Blanc said. "I watched the two headers from Ibrahimovic and he moves so quickly on his feet to react to both of them. He's one of the top goalkeepers in the world."
PSG had downed Chelsea 3-1 here last year, only to slump 2-0 in the return fixture in London and slink out on away goals. And, with four players out injured – and three starters carrying knocks – PSG looked alarmingly thin on paper as they attempted to take a measure of revenge.
"I'm satisfied by my team, by my players. It was almost perfect. Unfortunately we conceded a goal," Blanc noted. "I would've rather won 3-1 again. I think we played a better game than last season."
In practice, they came out with the same brio that shocked the Blues last year, moving the ball around quickly, and using Matuidi as a storming wedge to draw the attention of John Terry and Ramires.
But both teams were wary of the counter and for large spells, the game was played in an arid, overly patient fashion. Nemanja Matic was tasked with holding Marco Verratti in check, while Diego Costa drew the attention of three or four PSG players every time Cesc Fabregas or Willian tried to flip the ball over the second bank.
Matuidi had the first true chance of the game, and it came when PSG were able to pivot the point of attack, with Ibrahimovic finding Edinson Cavani out wide for an immediate cross to the penalty spot. Courtois made a tremendous parry on Matuidi’s header, then was able to stifle Ibrahimovic’s follow-up, which was nodded right into the turf.
Cavani would have the next true chance of note, whipping a header at the near top corner off a corner from Ezequiel Lavezzi, but again, Courtois was able to slap it away, one-handed. By far the busier keeper on the night, Courtois nonetheless looked untroubled throughout the first half, and with Ibrahimovic largely kept quiet, it seemed it would go into the break drawn and scorless.
Ivanovic would put Chelsea ahead in the 37th minute and change the tenor of the entire game. Finishing a superb flick on from Gary Cahill, Ivanovic caught Maxwell on the wrong side, and headed the ball through Salvatore Sirigu to the top corner. Cahill’s backheel was sublime, but it reflected Chelsea’s doggedness as the initial ball was flighted in by John Terry after a set-piece looked to have collapsed. Moreover, it was Chelsea’s first real attack of the night after what had been a tense game, and it gave the Londoners a very valuable away goal.
But the advantage would not last, and for much of the second half, Chelsea were forced to absorb. PSG would draw level quickly when Maxwell was able to combine with Matuidi down the near flank in the 54th minutes, allowing an uncontested cross from the endline to find Cavani. With Cahill beat, Cavani had a free header and he did not miss.
From there, it looked as though the floodgates might open. Courtois made a fabulous, sprawling stop on Ibrahimovic only to see the rebound fall to Lavezzi. But Cesar Azpilicueta was on the line, and despite not seeming to know much about the shot, managed to block it away to save a sure goal.
David Luiz then had a fine snap-header put over the bar after another deadly bit of service from Lavezzi. Courtois, looking unflappable, merely swatted the ball over and out into the crowd.
Courtois would be called into action again ten minutes from time, when he forced to come out and chase down Cavani. He was lucky to see the striker miss picking out the far post in what was probably the seminal moment of the second half: had Cavani found the back of the net, PSG might have gone on to add one or two more on the run of play.
Courtois would then deny Ibrahimovic in stoppage time, swatting aside a header right into the turf to preserve the draw. Ibra could only smile as that was all she wrote.
Blanc will at least be pleased that his side don’t look very far off Chelsea. Indeed, for large spells of the match, they were the sharper, slicker side. When PSG figured out that they had to get behind Chelsea to do damage, they move Matuidi further forward and allowed Lavezzi and Maxwell to spray the ball about.
But Jose Mourinho, that old fox on the road, knows that he came away with the result his team needed. "Obviously a two-leg game is now one leg. Now everything is decided at Stamford Bridge," Mourinho said.
Advantage Blues, with Paris now to come to them.
FOXSoccer's wire services contributed to this report.
