Ibrahimovic scored one and assisted another as PSG recorded a convincing 2-1
victory at Stamford Bridge to send Chelsea crashing out of the competition 4-2
on aggregate.
defeat means the Blues exit the Champions League at the same stage of the
competition against these opponents for the second year running.
Mikel Obi was on from start to finish but he could not repeat his goal-scoring
exploits of a fortnight ago and could also not prevent the Parisians from
scoring twice.
French champions started brightly and were ahead after just 16 minutes when
Rabiot scored after sliding in front of Azpilicueta to meet an inviting low
Ibrahimovic cross at the far post.
Chelsea responded
brilliantly to going behind with Willian providing the spark. But it was that
man again, Diego Costa who grabbed the equalizer, twisting
inside Thiago Silva before drilling the ball low into the net.
With 67 minutes on the clock Chelsea’s hopes pretty much
evaporated as PSG took the lead again on the night. Ibrahimovic was the scorer
this time, turning in a delicious Angel Di Maria cross.
It was game over from then on.
‘I am
disappointed,’ said Guus Hiddink after the game. ‘When you analyse the game we
started too respectfully in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but they are a team who
know the short possession game very well and you must be careful not to be
outplayed in the first part of the match.’
‘We were too respectful but later on, at 1-0
down, we lost that wrong respect and we tried to defend more forcefully, we won
duels and we got a deserved equaliser.
‘There were chances
both ways after that in the first half. In the second half we pushed, we tried
to make it 2-1. We had chances to score in the 65th minute, we
didn’t do so and in the 67th minute with a little attack they killed
the game.’
The defeat means it is highly likely that next season Chelsea will not be
playing Champions League football for the first time since 2002/03.
Hiddink gave his thoughts on a difficult period for the Blues.
‘In my opinion, Chelsea are now in a transitional period from where they have
to see how to go on, and to try to regain the lost terrain where Chelsea used
to be. That’s true.
difficult to get in to fourth position, there is a very big gap. Chelsea must
consider its short-term future on how to handle this, but they knew that
beforehand.’
