Match Summary
Chelsea bow out of the Champions League in feeble style as two Paris Saint-Germain headed goals were enough to see the French side through to the last eight.
The PSG players, who were rumoured to be given a £500,000 bonus if they prevailed tonight, had their central defence pairing of Luiz and Silva to thank as Chelsea could not handle set-pieces, despite playing 89 minutes with an extra man.
It means Chelsea, who had a week to prepare for the game, limp out and the Champions League, the only trophy Mourinho has not won as a Chelsea manager, slips through his fingers for another season.
But there were simply no excuses to be made: PSG were the better side.
The first half was your classic, cagey start, with Chelsea playing second fiddle from the off.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s red card early in the first hand was a poisoned chalice for Chelsea, and a blessing in disguise for the Parisians. The legitimacy of the red card can be debated: Oscar was equally reckless in his coming together with Ibrahimovic. The Swede was to depart. Chelsea should have had a penalty just before the half-time whistle when Costa was brought down, but Kuipers, who lost control of a tough game to officiate, declined.
But PSG galvanised where Chelsea capitulated. Cavani was played on-side by Gary Cahill and Cavani rounded Courtois with ease. The Uruguayan’s shot whacked one post and fizzed past the other. It was a huge let-off.
But the game really got going from the 80th minute. Chelsea were struggling all second half but their lethargic approach looked like it would not affect them. Cahill lashed home in the 81st minute but the game had not changed: PSG needed a goal.
Up came David Luiz. The former Chelsea man, much-maligned in England will return to France as a hero, firing a bullet of a header past Courtois with four minutes to go.
Extra-time it was and Hazard stepped up from the spot when Kuipers spotted Silva had handled in the area. The Belgian was far too cool for Chelsea fan’s nerves, but he got the job done.
Chelsea could not, though. The hosts should have gone for the third, but opted to hang on, despite the knowledge that a second PSG away goal would send them straight through.
Two corners came in quick succession: the first Silva drew out a fantastic save from Courtois, but nobody heeded any warning. From the second, Courtois was too far off his line and, with no-one on the posts, Silva climbed above Terry from some 12 yards to head home.
Cue delirious PSG scenes. With the Capital One Cup already secured, it is now all on the Premier League.
Man of the Match
NOBODY: Never have I awarded a “Nobody” rating in four years of this blog. Cahill could have been commended for his goal had it proved to be the winning one, but he was at fault for letting Cavani escape the offside trap when the striker hit the post. Hazard scored too but was anonymous for most of the game, despite being less anonymous than the rest of the Chelsea squad. It asks questions of what they did all week in training. N/A
Manager Reaction
Mourinho was equally baffled Chelsea lost their mentality: “Our performance was not good enough. Because they had 10 men we felt more the pressure of winning and they had nothing to lose. We couldn’t cope with that, we concede two goals in two set pieces, that is difficult to accept.”