Chelsea put in a miserable display in their Champions League second round clash against Paris Saint-Germain. Their first leg meeting ended 1-1, but Chelsea could and should have been defeated at the Parc des Princes. PSG created a lot of chances against the Blues, but Jose Mourinho’s side manage to hold on. It was far from pretty, but PSG’s wastefulness in front of goal saw them miss out on another valuable win against the Premier League leaders.
While the typical dull performance for an away leg by a Mourinho team resulted in a lifeless spectacle, with very few chances being made as a result of their defensive tactics, Chelsea’s showing was even more disappointing considering the side they put out. Barring Oscar, the Londoners were at full strength against Paris Saint-Germain, and registered just two shots in the 90 minutes. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas failed to produce against the Parisians, and were both hauled off I the second-half.
They made it through the group stages with consummate ease, but many feel winning the Champions League could well be beyond them based on Tuesday night’s showing. They made it to the semi-finals of the competition last season, losing to eventual runners-up Atletico Madrid, but could well come unstuck earlier this time round.
Paris saint-Germain aren’t being ruled out of getting a result at Stamford Bridge, with a team full of attacking talent desperate to finally become a European heavyweight. Chelsea have been far from invincible this season too, so Laurent Blanc’s men will be confident of a turnaround.
With Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich expected to be the teams to beat, do Chelsea really compare? They’ve had their moments in the Premier League, and currently sit at the summit in the business end to the campaign, but in Europe they just haven’t matched up at times.
Mourinho has led teams to glory in the competition before playing this style – with Porto and Inter Milan – but their challenge is made all the more harder given the competition this season. If they can see past PSG, they will have a lot of teams they’ll wish to avoid, as the La Liga giants could certainly make mincemeat of Chelsea.
Earlier on in the season, many tipped Chelsea to go the entire league season unbeaten, let alone go all the way in the prestigious European competition, but they’ve looked considerably human from the mid-point to the campaign onwards. Bookies have Mourinho’s men as fourth favourites to win the Champions League, but questionable away performances as such will see them fall short again.
So have Chelsea really proven their Champions League credentials?
