PSG impressed me in the first leg.
“They’ve improved,” I said.
It’s a stable group, too. Coach Laurent Blanc has kept the same squad for quite a while and we can now see the benefits of that policy.
Last night I didn’t make any notes or see the pre-match build-up as we’d been invited round to Doug & Kate’s for dinner before the match.
The evening worked out neatly enough for Doug and I to dive downstairs at 7.40 to catch the kick-off along with Bobby, their 21-year-old cat, who sat on the sofa between us.
What were my impressions?
Mainly, I thought Chelsea were outplayed because they were outrun.
Fabregas, Hazard and Costa looked too slow.
After half an hour Hazard was abysmal I said, “Take him off!”
Fabregas struggled and when Thiago Motta kicked him, I knew Cesc would soon kick him back. Which he did.
Adrien Rabiot started because Verratti was injured and played 90 very well and scored the first goal.
He’s an athlete with long legs and he seemed to be covering Manu Petit-like distances.
The giant Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 34 and performed like one of the elder statesmen of world football, giving a masterclass in which he made the first goal and scored the second.
Gary Cahill made the worst decision of his career as a defender when he didn’t follow Ibra’s diagonal run. Cahill is quick enough to get close to Ibra in that situation and pressurise him. Instead he panicked, backing off to cover the middle, allowing Ibra to play a measured cross to the far post, where Rabiot stabbed in for 1-0.
What Cahill did there was staggering, suicidal, imbecilic and inexplicable.
But then Pedro used his speed to win the ball boldly and find Willian, who found Diego Costa, and the big gunfighter glided neatly away from Thiago Silva and stroked home the equaliser with his left foot.
Costa was never going to play 90 and as soon as he went off, PSG scored again.
Azpilicueta had the worst game I’ve ever seen him play and the winning goal came from his side.
Di Maria found enough space and time to measure an deadly cross into the six-yard box to allow Ibra to volley in for 2-4 on aggregate.
That was that: PSG had beaten Chelsea 2-1 and 2-1, fair and square, no controversy.
Guus Hiddink admitted Chelsea are in transition now.
It’s a serious rebuilding job that requires insight and hard cash.
The $64,000 Question is : Will Antonio Conte will be allowed to choose the new players?