Liam Rosenior, Chelsea’s head coach, has changed four players in his starting line-up for the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. After their shocking loss at the Parc des Princes last Wednesday, the Blues are trying to come back from a 5-2 aggregate deficit.
Mamadou Sarr works with Jorrel Hato in the middle of the defence, and Trevoh Chalobah moves to right-back to fill in for the injured Reece James and sick Malo Gusto. Robert Sanchez takes over in goal from Filip Jorgensen after the Dane made a mistake that cost the Blues in the first leg. Enzo Fernandez is the captain of the team, and Andrey Santos and Pedro Neto have also been brought back to the starting eleven.
“Malo and Badiashile both pulled out today very late with illness. This is what football is about sometimes, it throws these things up, and you have to be able to adapt. For Jorrel, who has been outstanding, and for Mamadou, who is an outstanding player and I’ve worked with him before, it’s an opportunity to show what they’re about, and going into this game with no fear.”
— Liam Rosenior
Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens are both back from hamstring injuries and are on the bench, which is a nice surprise. Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Shim Mheuka, both academy players, are also in the matchday squad for this important European game.
Leaked Again: French Media Correctly Predicted Fofana’s Benching and Hato’s Inclusion
This is the second time in a week that French media have reported on Chelsea’s line-up just hours before the game. French magazine Onze Mondial once again showed what looked like Chelsea’s starting line-up before the important second leg. Before the first leg, French media reports revealed the Blues’ team almost eight hours before the game started, correctly guessing several unexpected choices.
The repeated leaks to a French newspaper have made people even more curious about who the source is within Chelsea’s organisation. In modern football, leaks happen all the time, but having two in a row at such a crucial time of the season is very unusual and very bad for the club. As they try to make a historic comeback in the Champions League against the current European champions, the Blues will hope that their focus stays on the pitch tonight.