PSG give lacklustre Chelsea mountain to climb after another keeper calamity
A costly error by Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen sparked a late collapse as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s double gave Champions League holders Paris St‑Germain a three‑goal lead going into next week’s last-16 second leg.
Chelsea had played well, bringing the score back to 2‑2, but Jorgensen’s pass straight to PSG’s Bradley Barcola before being lobbed by Vitinha let the European champions restore their lead for the third time at Parc des Princes.
However, substitute Kvaratskhelia curled a wonderful strike from the edge of the box before giving Chelsea a mountain to climb by making it 5-2 with a sidefooted finish with virtually last kick of the match.
It could have been a much better night for Chelsea, who performed well for 75 minutes, despite going a goal down inside 10 minutes.
Barcola opened the scoring with a powerful shot through several Chelsea bodies and inside the near post after Ousmane Dembele’s cross was nodded into his path.
Jorgensen then tipped Dembele’s powerful effort on to the post, but Malo Gusto equalised for Chelsea, shooting past the unconvincing goalkeeper Matvei Safonov after his run was picked out by Enzo Fernandez.
Just 14 seconds after Cole Palmer struck a shot straight at Safonov from inside the penalty area, Dembele was celebrating putting PSG back in front.
He outran Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana and found the space for a composed sidefoot finish. It was Desire Doue’s creativity that allowed him to evade challenges from Moises Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah in midfield before playing in last year’s Ballon d’Or winner.
However, Doue would cost PSG in the second half when he was caught in possession by Neto, whose low cross was steered into the net by the onrushing Fernandez to level the match again for Chelsea.
Less than five minutes later, PSG manager Luis Enrique replaced Doue with exciting Georgia attacker Kvaratskhelia.
It was Jorgensen’s costly error – a misplaced pass straight to Barcola – that allowed Vitinha to lob the out‑of‑position goalkeeper and restore the Parisians’ lead for the third time on the night.
A cruel moment for Chelsea was followed by one of pure magic as Kvaratskhelia delivered an unstoppable curling strike from the edge of the box, with a further sidefoot finish making it five goals for the European champions.
Chelsea will now have to overturn a three‑goal deficit when they host PSG in the second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
