Paris Saint Germain took control of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Chelsea on Wednesday night, with a 3-1 win putting them in the driving seat ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge next week.
Urged on by the ardent Parc des Princes faithful, Laurent Blanc’s side, through goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi, an own-goal by David Luiz and Javier Pastore’s silky finish late on, took one step into the semi-finals. But it is certainly not beyond Chelsea’s reach to progress on Tuesday, mainly through Eden Hazard’s crucial penalty – the vital away goal.
Here are the Chelsea player ratings from the Parc des Princes:
Petr Cech – 7/10
Cech, apart from his ineffective dealing of Pastore’s goal, was a safe pair of hands in goal, producing important saves, most notably from Lavezzi.
Branislav Ivanovic – 6/10
The Serb was assured at right-back, retaining his propensity to venture forward and provide another option in attack.
Gary Cahill – 6/10
The England man fared well, stifling the lethal powers of PSG’s attack for the most part of the match.
John Terry – 6/10
Apart from his misplaced header which led to Lavezzi’s emphatic volley, Terry managed well against Cavani and Ibrahimovic.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10
The Spaniard could have done better in the build-up to Pastore’s damaging goal, PSG’s third on the night, but was otherwise relatively assured.
Ramires – 6/10
The Brazilian, who will miss the second-leg through suspension, was energetic in central midfield, hassling Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi into wayward passes.
David Luiz – 6/10
Luiz’ own-goal, while he was unable to sort his feet, was unfortunate with Lavezzi’s free-kick delivery whipped in with such pace and his view obstructed by the cluster of bodies ahead of him.
Willian – 8/10
The Brazil international was superb, attacking with real vigour. He ran the ageing Maxwell ragged with his speed and adept trickery. His chipped pass, to find Hazard who hit the post, was wonderful.
Oscar – 7/10
Oscar, for the 72 minutes in which he featured in, was splendid, particularly in the first-half. The Brazilian earned the penalty from which Hazard dispatched after a rash challenge from Thiago Silva.
Eden Hazard – 9/10
The Belgian was wonderfully nimble, creative and strong. He effectively held up the ball, drifted beyond opposition and caused PSG right-back Jallet all sorts of problems.
His ability to turn up for the big nights will be encouraging for Jose Mourinho, and so will his priceless composure, unfazed by the intimidation from the Parisien support, as he sent Sirigu the wrong way for his penalty.
Andre Schurrle – 5/10
The German international failed to influence proceedings and was duly replaced by Torres after 58 minutes.
Subs:
Frank Lampard – 5
The England midfielder should have coped better with Pastore’s skilful dribble.
Fernando Torres – 5
Just like the man who he replaced (Schurrle), the Spaniard was unable to impact proceedings.
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