PSG hand Chelsea a Champions League lesson to seal emphatic win
PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring against Chelsea. Pic: AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Chelsea were given a Champions League lesson in their own back yard as the 2025 winners showed they have lost none of last season's sparkle.
Perhaps Chelsea need to go back to cheating if they are to win this competition again. After all, the trophy-laden era that saw them lift it in 2012 only cost an extra €11.5 million in fines. A bargain if ever there was one...
A day and a bit after such a light slap on BlueCo wrists for the secret payments made to players and agents between 2011 and 2018 under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's Class of '26 showed themselves to be miles behind another of world football's big spenders.
A 5-2 first-leg deficit was always going to be difficult to retrieve. Chelsea beat the French champions 3-0 in the Club World Cup final in July but a repeat was never on the cards.
Luis Enrique's side removed three Premier League sides on the way to glory last term and another English scalp was effectively theirs within 14 minutes thanks to goals from the impressive Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola. Substitute Senny Mayulu made it 3-0 just after the hour mark but the contest was long over by then.
Chelsea's problems were compounded before kick-off by another hamstring injury to Reece James. That saw Mamadou Sarr shifted to right-back and Jorrel Hato, a left-back, deployed in the middle.
Competent goalkeeping has been Chelsea's Achilles heel for a while and no more so than in Paris when Filip Jorgensen was culpable for two, maybe three, goals. His injury absence meant there was no choice but to pick Robert Sanchez but the bench nonetheless featured two rookie keepers just in case.
Chelsea's line-up had been leaked before the first-leg and it seemed the same had occurred for this one.
Chelsea kept their pre-match huddle away from the ball having bizarrely captured referee Paul Tierney in Saturday's ahead of a 1-0 loss to Newcastle. Possibly because a Continental ref might have shown the lot of them red cards.
Whatever was said did not work as Chelsea were a goal down after just six minutes - and it was the sort of goal even a hastily-revamped defence shouldn't concede.
Goalkeeper Matvei Safonov launched a free-kick downfield and Sarr suddenly found himself on his own against Kvaratskhelia. The Champions League debutant got to the ball first but a disastrous touch allowed the Georgian to slip goal-side for a simple finish.
Chelsea were unlucky not to level straight away when Safanov failed to deal with a high ball that Enzo Fernandez headed on to his back from point-blank range.
Barcola's 14th-minute lead doubler was another disaster though. Chelsea surrendered possession in the PSG half via a blue on blue collision and although they hastily retreated into their own box Barcola was still afforded enough time and space to loft Achraf Hakimi's pass high into the net from 17 yards.
Another Chelsea chance came and went as Safanov again looked vulnerable but Joao Pedro's header from Cole Palmer's cross dropped wide of an empty net.
The visitors replied by pinging passes around, with Kvaratskhelia converting a move that was ruled out because Barcola had strayed offside setting him up. Barcola rolled PSG's next opportunity across goal and wide.
Palmer and Jorrel Hato forced Safonov into a diving save but Sanchez had to block when Barcola ran from his own half and into the six-yard box.
Sarr was replaced by Josh Acheampong for a second half that saw Chelsea try to be as proactive as possible, with Pedro curling a decent effort wide from 15 yards.
Rosenior made more changes just before the hour mark by sending on Liam Delap and Romeo Lavia for Pedro and Enzo.
Delap instantly forced a save from Safanov but PSG replied with a third goal, from a replacement of their own in Mayulu.
Kvaratskhelia made rapid ground down the left and although Andrey Santos intervened to stop Hakimi having a go the ball broke for the sub to lash beyond Sanchez.
Sanchez hadn't moved but plenty of Chelsea fans did - towards the exits - and worse was to come when defender Trevoh Chalobah was hurt late on and had to go off on a stretcher with all five substitutes already on.
Sanchez 6; Sarr 4 (Acheampong 46, 6), Chalobah 6, Hato 6, Cucurella 6 (Adarabioyo 71, 4); Caicedo 6, Santos 6; Palmer 6 (Garnacho 59, 6), Fernandez 7 (Lavia 59, 5), Neto 6; Pedro 7 (Delap 59, 5).
Sofanov 6; Hakimi 7, Marquinhos 7, Pacho 7, Mendes 7 (Hernandez 66, 4); Zaire-Emery 7, Vitinha 7, Neves 6 (Mayulu 46, 6); Barcola 7 (Doue), Dembele 6 (Ramos 66, 4), Kvaratskhelia 8 (Lee 73, 4).
Slavko Vincic 6
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