Chelsea Vs. Paris Saint Germain: Champions League last 16 Match Preview

17 February 2015 09:24

The last time the two teams met it was one of the great Champions League nights at Stamford Bridge. Euphoria filled the air, the fans were ecstatic and Jose Mourinho revelled in his team’s victory whilst the Parisians wallowed in despair. However, in the first leg of that matchup Chelsea were totally outclassed in Paris with a rather soft Oscar penalty converted by Eden Hazard providing a then thin lifeline for the Blues.

PSG’s form at home in the Champions League is so good such that they last lost in 2012 and they always seem to have an almost tangible conviction in front of their fans. Despite all that, PSG could not be facing the English League leaders at a worse time as they are missing trio Lucas Moura, Yohan Cabaye and Serge Aurier while Blaise Matuidi and Marquinhos also seem to be struggling with injuries. In spite of this, Laurent Blanc is confident his team will come through with a result mainly due to the big name players like talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who almost always seems to pop up with the goods when it matters.

Chelsea enter this tie in considerably good form as their season in the Champions League and beyond has been simply magnificent with the once conservative side scoring for fun. The Blues also welcome back Diego Costa who has been on a domestic ban which probably helped him to recover his fitness and leave him raring to go. The Special One has even gone on to warn the French fans as he was quoted as saying, “I believe the Parc des Princes will see a different Chelsea than last season.”

There is an added edge to this game as Laurent Blanc has made it clear himself and Mourinho aren’t any sort of buddies as he believes the Portuguese mastermind creates unnecessary tension on the touchline. It has also emerged that David Luiz rejected a new Chelsea contract contrary to thoughts that Jose had pushed him out. We all wait to see if Luiz made the right choice in leaving London as he claims his “Chelsea cycle had ended.”

Source: DSG