The only blessing worth counting for Chelsea in this strangest of weeks is that the Premier League operate with a softer notion of justice than the champions of Europe. To judge from this tie, Paris Saint-Germain have no interest in slaps on the wrist when a guillotine will do.
It was brutal, magnificent and effective, a two-legged demonstration of what can happen when you pit a collection of exceptional parts against a disjointed, chaotic club whose most recent narratives veered between peculiar huddles and illegal transfer dealings.
Chelsea might have been fortunate to survive the latter of those scenarios without a points deduction, but PSG are less forgiving than the spineless folk who run our top flight.
No, Luis Enrique’s side don’t work that way. They are ruthless, relentless and utterly vicious, which is how they came to humiliate Liam Rosenior for a second time in the space of seven days.
We can view that through the numbers – the aggregate of 8-2 was a match for the nadir of a 7-1 hiding against Bayern Munich in 2020 – but also in the detail.
In the splendour of three superb goals by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bradley Barcola and Senny Mayulu. In the wider contributions of Barcola. In the saves of Matvei Safonov because, let’s not forget, the defending champions have an immensely strong backbone.
Bradley Barcola wheels away in celebration after scoring a second for PSG on Tuesday night
The French champions were simply too strong in every department for Liam Rosenior’s team
Joao Pedro can hardly believe what he is seeing as his team are floored in their last-16 tie
Against that force, Chelsea were pummelled. Not through glaring errors, just a deficiency of talent and nous and the accumulated issues that come from throwing players into a squad and hoping the churn will somehow lead to coherent, sustainable outcomes.
PSG themselves have a history that signals the flaws in such a method and Chelsea’s current regime are their echo. The best they might do now is learn from this.
But that won’t be easy. For that, look no further than one of the challenges that faced Rosenior here. Aside from a 5-2 first-leg deficit, he faced opposition from within, manifested by the ongoing leaks of team information.
As with the initial fixture, for which his entire line-up was somehow known in advance, this rerun fuelled suspicions of a dissident element after it was correctly reported in France that Wesley Fofana would be dropped for Jorrel Hato.
Fofana’s demotion was no surprise when you consider the dip in his form but repurposing a left-back at centre-half was a gamble. For it to find a way into the open suggests those in and around his squad are none too fussed about sharing his plans. Worrying.
Not that it would have made much of a difference to this tie. PSG were sublime. PSG were precise. PSG looked like contenders to win the whole thing. Again.
Chelsea? From the moment they relocated their much-discussed pre-match huddle away from the centre spot, they had the ring of a side knocked off balance, unsure of their footing and outclassed in every meaningful way.
Exhibit A: the first goal, scored after six minutes. Mamadou Sarr, a centre-half clumsily stationed at right-back, had an age to track the flight of Matvei Safonov’s 70-yard punt from the fringe of the PSG area and still got himself in a muddle. Attempting to control with the outside of his left boot, he got his touch horrible wrong and teed up Kvaratskhelia to nip in and lash a finish across Robert Sanchez.
That was the death of hope. But still PSG pushed on and Exhibit B was pretty special, tracing to the smothering of Moises Caicedo when Warren Zaire-Emery first won possession 60 yards from the Chelsea goal. He and Achraf Hakimi then led the break at speed before Barcola responded to a questionable first touch by rocketing his second into the top corner.
To give Chelsea their due, they continued to fight – Cole Palmer forced Safonov into a save and Joao Pedro had a decent shout for a penalty. But by then Kvaratskhelia had seen a goal disallowed for offside after PSG had danced a merry trail through this peculiar, experimental backline and Barcola had dominated anyone who got near him.
When Chelsea fans began their chants for Roman Abramovich, presumably aware that Todd Boehly was present, it summed up the local mood.
Despite that irritation, the home side continued to create chances and Safonov continued to save them. Just as PSG continued to pelt Chelsea on the break, demonstrated for the umpteenth time when a counter culminated with Senny Mayulu thundering into the top corner.
That was a cue for many home fans to leave. Trevoh Chalobah followed soon after on a stretcher.
A bleak night for Chelsea, who, as the banners tell us, are world champions and have been ever since they beat PSG in the US last summer. Never before has that title seemed so far from the truth.
