Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a forward for Paris Saint-Germain, praised Chelsea as a good team even though they had a terrible game in the holders’ 5-2 Champions League last-16 first-leg win at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday. The Georgian came off the bench and scored two goals, while providing an assist for Vitinha in the 74th minute. This changed what had been a close game into a rout, leaving Chelsea with a lot of work to do at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea came back from behind twice, with Malo Gusto (28′) and Enzo Fernández (57′) scoring to tie the game after Bradley Barcola (10′) and Ousmane Dembélé (40′) had scored. But Filip Jörgensen’s costly mistake in the 74th minute led to a spectacular late collapse, and Kvaratskhelia’s brilliance did the rest. After the game, the 24-year-old told CBS Sports Golazo that he still thought the Blues were great, even though he had just beaten them:
“I’m happy that I can help to the team and I’m more happy that we won against Chelsea because they are good team. And yeah, I’m happy for that game.”
Chelsea weren’t terrible for much of that night; the game was very close until João Pedro was taken off, and heads dropped after Jörgensen’s mistake. PSG scored five goals on just nine shots on goal, tying the record for the fewest shots by any team to score five or more in a Champions League match since Opta started keeping detailed records in 2003–04.
That clinical edge, along with Kvaratskhelia’s amazing curling strike from far away and his stoppage-time tap-in from Achraf Hakimi’s cutback, turned a close game into a big lead. Chelsea have a second chance to make things right at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday, but it will be very hard for Liam Rosenior’s men to keep Kvaratskhelia and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé quiet for 90 minutes.
Chelsea’s Champions League First-Leg Deficits
Chelsea have never come back from a three-goal aggregate deficit in the Champions League, and only four teams have ever moved on after losing the first leg by three or more goals. But history does give the Blues two famous two-goal comebacks to draw inspiration from.
Chelsea came back from a 3-1 loss to Napoli in the first leg in 2012 by winning 4-1 at Stamford Bridge after extra time. Branislav Ivanović’s goal in extra time completed the comeback that led to their run to Champions League glory. Two years later, they did it again against PSG, winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to André Schürrle’s goal in the first half and Demba Ba’s dramatic goal in the 87th minute. They moved on to the next round with a 3-3 aggregate score.
This time, though, the gap is much bigger, and Chelsea will need something truly historic to keep their European campaign going.