Dismal Chelsea dumped out of Europe

[BlueLion. 21,491]

A dismal Chelsea performance allowed ten-man Paris St-Germain to deservedly reach the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals.

The visitors were reduced to ten men when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was harshly shown a straight red card for a coming together with Oscar, but were fortunate that referee Björn Kuipers waved away appeals for a blatant spot-kick when Diego Costa was upended.

Edinson Cavani hit the inside of the post after rounding Thibaut Courtois as the visitors, spurred on by what they deemed to be the injustice of the Ibrahimovic dismissal, looked by far the more threatening of the two teams.

But after 81 minutes of relative dirge, Gary Cahill lit the blue touch paper when he smashed home a loose ball in front of the Matthew Harding End to give Chelsea the lead on the evening.

That advantage, however, was wiped out when former Blues player David Luiz headed home five minutes from time, to earn the Parisiens the opportunity to take their hosts to extra time.

When Thiago Silva handled in the penalty area under pressure from Kurt Zouma, Eden Hazard - an anonymous figure for much of the game - stepped up and slotted confidently past Salvatore Sirigu, but the Brazilian international made immediate amends as he sent a looping header over Courtois to send the Ligue Un outfit into the last eight.

It was Demba Ba who last year sent José Mourinho's side through late on in similar circumstances, but that evening saw a performance of great determination and the will to win was evident in every single Chelsea player.

That same grit was missing today, as PSG, regardless of their alleged impediment in terms of being a man down, showed the same sort of spirit and resolve that saw Chelsea past their opponents last term - and more famously when Roberto di Matteo led the Londoners to European success in 2012.

The opening play saw Hazard, Diego Costa and Ramires press high up the pitch, but besides that initial burst the entire Chelsea team assumed a complacent and lackadaisical approach which, ultimately, has led to their deserved elimination from the tournament.

With the meagre advantage of Branislav Ivanovic's header in the first leg three weeks ago in the Parc des Princes, a cautious approach from Mourinho was more than warranted given the embarrassment of attacking riches available to Laurent Blanc.

But after Ibrahimovic's harsh dismissal, where the Swedish international admittedly caught Oscar but by no means in an overly forceful manner, it was PSG, not Chelsea, who seized the initiative and looked by far the more urgent of the two sides.

That came as no surprise considering the perilous position they found themselves in, but their commitment to the attack stunned Chelsea, who seemed keen on reaching half-time to regroup.

However, any promise of a galvanised Chelsea showing after the interval was short-lived. Even the introduction of Willian did little to spur the team on, and whilst Chelsea should have already had the chance to open the scoring in the first half when Costa was unceremoniously hacked down inside the box by Cavani, there was to be little chance of a repeat incident considering the Blues' placid performance.

Chelsea looked visibly jaded; surprising considering they were not in action at the weekend due to the resumption of the FA Cup. Instead, PSG, who have gained ground on Lyon in the Ligue Un title race and coming into the game on the back of a fourteen match unbeaten run, again looked the more dangerous of the two sides.

Cavani, who has been on the losing side on two occasions against Chelsea already in his career, looked set to be adding another miserable moment to his collection when he could only hit the woodwork from a tight angle after rounding Courtois. That looked like the big chance PSG would have needed to have scored from, but still Chelsea failed to heed the warning.

Even when Cahill lashed home an 81st minute opener, fears of a reprisal were well founded when Luiz rose highest to brilliantly head home via the underside of the crossbar to force extra time. His celebrations in front of the Chelsea fans certainly soured the mood even further inside a stunned-into-silence Stamford Bridge.

Hazard then set the ball rolling six minutes into the extra period when he sent Sirigu the wrong way from twelve yards, but instead of pressing the initiative and killing PSG off with what would have been a soul-destroying third goal, Chelsea continued to sit too deep and invited countless waves of pressure from their visitors.

Courtois looked like he had pulled off a match-winning save when he somehow diverted a Silva header out for a corner with an almost elastic spring to maintain the lead.

But the following corner saw the young Belgian turn hero to villain, as, taking a few steps off his line, he was always retreating and off balance as Silva looped a stunning header into the back of the net from thirteen yards to inflict more knockout heartache on Chelsea and Mourinho.

That goal - the sixth in the tie and the fifth overall scored by a defender - meant the Blues surrendered an aggregate lead on three separate occasions en route to being eliminated; an all too familiar feeling for Chelsea supporters this season, who have seen their side concede sloppy goals in big matches even in spite of the continued miraculous interventions of Courtois and Petr Cech on occasions this season.

An inquest will surely commence to see how and why the Blues shipped two goals from set pieces, but blatant penalty claims aside, Mourinho has nobody to blame but himself and his side for a haphazard and half-hearted performance, that is matched only by a 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Atletico Madrid in 2012 in terms of the Blues' direst European showings in recent seasons.

With Manchester City, barring a miracle, set to join the Blues in being dumped out at the first knockout stage as they trail Barcelona 2-1 heading into the second leg at the Camp Nou, this defeat may offer Mourinho and his side a welcome reprieve in terms of reducing the number of games they will have to play between now and the end of the season.

Chelsea may well now be able to focus on the title race, but the bitter taste of disappointment after what can only be described as a gutless bottlejob performance will last at least until the end of the season - a taste that will only be enhanced if the Blues fail to convert their present Premier League lead into a fifth league title success in the club's history.

[Stingray 9,441]

Damn, still so gutted. Rereading it didnt help [emoji25]

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Damn, still so gutted. Rereading it didnt help [emoji25]

Was a good match report though

[zolayes 14,489]

the truth hurts ,, WE WERE KRAP and got the result we deserved

[Blue Armour 4,442]

A dismal Chelsea performance allowed ten-man Paris St-Germain to deservedly reach the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals.

The visitors were reduced to ten men when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was harshly shown a straight red card for a coming together with Oscar, but were fortunate that referee Björn Kuipers waved away appeals for a blatant spot-kick when Diego Costa was upended.

Edinson Cavani hit the inside of the post after rounding Thibaut Courtois as the visitors, spurred on by what they deemed to be the injustice of the Ibrahimovic dismissal, looked by far the more threatening of the two teams.

But after 81 minutes of relative dirge, Gary Cahill lit the blue touch paper when he smashed home a loose ball in front of the Matthew Harding End to give Chelsea the lead on the evening.

That advantage, however, was wiped out when former Blues player David Luiz headed home five minutes from time, to earn the Parisiens the opportunity to take their hosts to extra time.

When Thiago Silva handled in the penalty area under pressure from Kurt Zouma, Eden Hazard - an anonymous figure for much of the game - stepped up and slotted confidently past Salvatore Sirigu, but the Brazilian international made immediate amends as he sent a looping header over Courtois to send the Ligue Un outfit into the last eight.

It was Demba Ba who last year sent José Mourinho's side through late on in similar circumstances, but that evening saw a performance of great determination and the will to win was evident in every single Chelsea player.

That same grit was missing today, as PSG, regardless of their alleged impediment in terms of being a man down, showed the same sort of spirit and resolve that saw Chelsea past their opponents last term - and more famously when Roberto di Matteo led the Londoners to European success in 2012.

The opening play saw Hazard, Diego Costa and Ramires press high up the pitch, but besides that initial burst the entire Chelsea team assumed a complacent and lackadaisical approach which, ultimately, has led to their deserved elimination from the tournament.

With the meagre advantage of Branislav Ivanovic's header in the first leg three weeks ago in the Parc des Princes, a cautious approach from Mourinho was more than warranted given the embarrassment of attacking riches available to Laurent Blanc.

But after Ibrahimovic's harsh dismissal, where the Swedish international admittedly caught Oscar but by no means in an overly forceful manner, it was PSG, not Chelsea, who seized the initiative and looked by far the more urgent of the two sides.

That came as no surprise considering the perilous position they found themselves in, but their commitment to the attack stunned Chelsea, who seemed keen on reaching half-time to regroup.

However, any promise of a galvanised Chelsea showing after the interval was short-lived. Even the introduction of Willian did little to spur the team on, and whilst Chelsea should have already had the chance to open the scoring in the first half when Costa was unceremoniously hacked down inside the box by Cavani, there was to be little chance of a repeat incident considering the Blues' placid performance.

Chelsea looked visibly jaded; surprising considering they were not in action at the weekend due to the resumption of the FA Cup. Instead, PSG, who have gained ground on Lyon in the Ligue Un title race and coming into the game on the back of a fourteen match unbeaten run, again looked the more dangerous of the two sides.

Cavani, who has been on the losing side on two occasions against Chelsea already in his career, looked set to be adding another miserable moment to his collection when he could only hit the woodwork from a tight angle after rounding Courtois. That looked like the big chance PSG would have needed to have scored from, but still Chelsea failed to heed the warning.

Even when Cahill lashed home an 81st minute opener, fears of a reprisal were well founded when Luiz rose highest to brilliantly head home via the underside of the crossbar to force extra time. His celebrations in front of the Chelsea fans certainly soured the mood even further inside a stunned-into-silence Stamford Bridge.

Hazard then set the ball rolling six minutes into the extra period when he sent Sirigu the wrong way from twelve yards, but instead of pressing the initiative and killing PSG off with what would have been a soul-destroying third goal, Chelsea continued to sit too deep and invited countless waves of pressure from their visitors.

Courtois looked like he had pulled off a match-winning save when he somehow diverted a Silva header out for a corner with an almost elastic spring to maintain the lead.

But the following corner saw the young Belgian turn hero to villain, as, taking a few steps off his line, he was always retreating and off balance as Silva looped a stunning header into the back of the net from thirteen yards to inflict more knockout heartache on Chelsea and Mourinho.

That goal - the sixth in the tie and the fifth overall scored by a defender - meant the Blues surrendered an aggregate lead on three separate occasions en route to being eliminated; an all too familiar feeling for Chelsea supporters this season, who have seen their side concede sloppy goals in big matches even in spite of the continued miraculous interventions of Courtois and Petr Cech on occasions this season.

An inquest will surely commence to see how and why the Blues shipped two goals from set pieces, but blatant penalty claims aside, Mourinho has nobody to blame but himself and his side for a haphazard and half-hearted performance, that is matched only by a 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Atletico Madrid in 2012 in terms of the Blues' direst European showings in recent seasons.

With Manchester City, barring a miracle, set to join the Blues in being dumped out at the first knockout stage as they trail Barcelona 2-1 heading into the second leg at the Camp Nou, this defeat may offer Mourinho and his side a welcome reprieve in terms of reducing the number of games they will have to play between now and the end of the season.

Chelsea may well now be able to focus on the title race, but the bitter taste of disappointment after what can only be described as a gutless bottlejob performance will last at least until the end of the season - a taste that will only be enhanced if the Blues fail to convert their present Premier League lead into a fifth league title success in the club's history.

Normally, I thought you wouldn't be in the mood to type in a summary of the match, especially after one like that...but full credit for being up for it.

[cosmicway 1,333]

Good report. Placid performence, that's what it was. Forgot to mention Diego not passing the ball to Cesc after the 2-1 to kill it. But I don't entirely agree when he says we were so stunningly brilliant in the same match last year. Just luckier.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Normally, I thought you wouldn't be in the mood to type in a summary of the match, especially after one like that...but full credit for being up for it.

Not normally, but I find this now helps me vent my frustrations.