Filip Jorgensen’s costly error at the Parc des Princes was the pivotal moment as Chelsea suffered a late collapse to lose 5-2 to Paris St Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
The visitors had twice recovered from a goal down and looked like surviving an intriguing match with a draw when, in the 74th minute, Jorgensen’s pass was cut out easily by Bradley Barcola, substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia squared it and Vitinha chipped the stranded goalkeeper.
Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez had earlier scored equalisers in answer to goals by Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
Then came Jorgensen’s awful misjudgement, a blow Chelsea clearly struggled psychologically to recover from. Kvaratskhelia curled in a brilliant fourth soon after then tapped in a fifth in stoppage time as the holders twisted the knife.
Chelsea were brave in coming to the home of the European champions and taking them on but their nativity was their undoing.
They were too casual about the threat posed by PSG, leaving space for Dembele and for Barcola, not giving their all in challenging for second balls and too easily pulled out of shape by rapid transitions.
These are the missing details that will almost certainly mean an exit next week for Liam Rosenior’s side, but they also exposed PSG’s own defensive vulnerabilities – Barcola in particular was horribly at fault for Gusto’s goal – and there remains a sniff of encouragement that the holders can be beaten.
