Vive la resistance! Paris heroes overcome referee and Chelsea
The EPL’s dreadful European season continued after 10 man PSG stunned Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Neither fixture from Wednesday night would end with all 22 men left on the pitch as both Ibrahimavic of Paris Saint-Germain and Kucher of Shakhtar Donetsk saw red in their Champions League match-ups. Tempers flew, goals were netted and Bayern Munich and PSG tasted the sweet magic that European football nights are so notorious for producing.
Paris Avenge Last Season’s Loss
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain put on a Champions League thriller that ended in extra time thanks to a 114th minute goal from PSG hero Thiago Silva. It was a match heavy with history and tension as former teammates became opponents and the two sides met for the second time in a row in UCL knockout action. Last season, Chelsea advanced past PSG in the quarterfinals, going through on away goals in a 3-3 draw. This season, the French side were the ones to advance in a jaw-dropping 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge where Thiago Silva scored a crucial second away goal to equal Edin Hazard’s extra-time penalty kick and send his side through with the away advantage.
From the blow of the whistle, both teams were putting on their best display of fast-paced attacking football. Tackles were flying from both sides and the controversial Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the first to be seriously penalized for his rough play, seeing a straight red for his studs-up tackle on Oscar. While the Brazilian did appear to play up the contact, the pace and adrenaline of the game clearly got to the Swede and his reckless challenge did not go unpunished.
Any neutral fan was surely frustrated by the continuous breaks in play as both sides went in on hard tackles and followed them up with dramatic appeals to the referee to completely halt the flow of the game. In spite of being down a man, PSG showed no sign of it and easily held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw at the half.
PSG were nearly flawless in their defense until the 81st minute when Cahill netted a fantastic shot off of a loose ball in the box. Chelsea swung in a corner and Thiago Silva struggled to clear. When the ball fell to Cahill’s feet, he made no mistake in slamming it past the stunned goalkeeper. While Chelsea and their fans thought that the center-back’s goal was enough to carry them through, they were unable to hold on for the ten minutes that would see them through to the end of the game. Former Chelsea defender David Luiz was the one to find the back of the net against his former club with one of his spectacular headers that made him so loved during his time with the English side. 10-man PSG had earned a chance to avenge last season’s loss in extra time.
As the teams readied for an extra half-hour of play, Chelsea brought on Didier Drogba to buff up their attack. Four minutes into play, it seemed as though a strike replacement wouldn’t be necessary as an unfortunate Thiago Silva was called for a handball in the box and Hazard was gifted a chance to score from the spot. The Belgian made no mistake and placed his penalty past Sirigu to give Chelsea the lead. On the night, fate rewarded the hard-working Brazilian who was without doubt the man of the match, netting an absolutely perfect, arching header over the gloves of Courtois to give the visitors the deserved victory and a ticket to the quarterfinals.
