Having talked revenge all week, PSG started the game with the appropriate energy and impetus, though it were Chelsea who had the first chance: João Pedro not quite able to steer a Cole Palmer cross on target.
But PSG were running circles around Chelsea, and we were made to pay for our passive defending as Bradley Barcola had time to set himself, let the ball bounce, and smash his shot into the roof of the net from ten yards out in the tenth minute.
As has been our habit lately, we woke up and started
to play after conceding early, with PSG’s defense proving far from solid. Unfortunately, our finishing eluded us … at least until the PSG goalkeeper contrived to not scoop Malo Gusto’s mis-kicked shot away from goal and instead let it squirm through him for the equalizer just before the half-hour mark.
Palmer then should’ve made it 2-1, but he failed to convert a great chance. Instead, from the resulting counter, Ousmane Dembélé showed how it’s done, giving PSG the lead once again — Chelsea not exactly making it too difficult for him though.
With neither side able to play any defense, the second half promised more goals.
Chelsea came out of the break with renewed energy and took control of proceedings, eventually finding the equalizer right before the hour-mark, thanks to some enterprising play from Pedro Neto and a lovely finish of his cutback by Enzo. PSG responded by bringing on Kvaratskhelia, who immediately made them more threatening as they looked to take the lead for the third time.
As it turned out, they didn’t even need to do any of that as instead, we would simply gift the lead back to them. We’d been playing with fire at the back all night, and it was only a matter of time before we’d be burned. Vitinha chipped the giveaway into the back of the empty net.
We did appear to score a third equalizer before that was correctly ruled out for an offside, and then Kvara did score his goal to make it 4-2 instead.
And then, just to seal our fates, Kvara scored again with the final kick of the game. Three goals conceded in the final 15 minutes will just about signal the end of our Champions League campaign.
Carefree.
- No surprises or shenanigans with the starting lineup, despite all the speculation
- Hey, let’s pass it around at the back under a strong press; what could possibly go wrong!?
- Second leg next week at the Bridge now just a formality; before then, Newcastle at home on Saturday
- KTBFFH
