Chelsea are through to the Champions League semifinal after doing the seemingly impossible and beating PSG 2-0 at home in the second leg to go through on away goals after losing 3-1 last week (Agg 3-3).
It was a bit of a slow start, which is typical of Chelsea this season, and it did nothing to settle the nerves. It got worse before it got better with in-form Eden Hazard going off injured (feeling a pain in his leg) on the 18th minute with Schürrle as his replacement. The German put a bit of a spark into the game and Chelsea started to create some decent chances. PSG also had a few chances but none on target.
In the 28th minute, Chelsea came close to taking the much needed lead when a deflection came off a PSG player and almost caught out Sirigu, but he managed to get the ball away. Â A minute later David Luiz tried to score, but again the PSG goalkeeper managed to save it. By this time Chelsea were dominating and a goal seemed like it wasnÂ’t far away.
Now it was the 32nd minute and Ivanovic threw a long ball into the box, which David Luiz then flicked into the path of the substitute André Schürrle who smashed the ball home. The net rippled as the Stamford Bridge crowd went wild and the Chelsea players all rushed to celebrate with the German. Chelsea finally had a goal and the job was half done as one of the two goals they needed was now secured.
There were a few more chances before half time and PSG looked shaky as Chelsea continued to attack, but they could only go in at half time with a 1-0 lead.
The second half began with Chelsea still needing one more goal and to keep their clean sheet intact. The defence was looking a lot stronger than the week before, managing to deal with everything that came their way, and the defenders were even getting forward on occasions in open play to try and get a goal themselves. It seemed everyone wanted to be the hero.
This half began similarly to the first with a slow start again. It was Chelsea though that were still in control as they looked for the much needed second goal. On the 52nd minute it was SchĂĽrrle again who created a fantastic chance. Unluckily, however, he saw his well-struck shot hit off the bar. Two minutes later and Chelsea had a free kick; unbelievably, they hit the cross bar again, this time by Oscar. This looked like it might not be ChelseaÂ’s night after all, but much to the credit of the players they kept their heads up and kept trying.
The game was now open and there were plenty of chances for both sides, though still no goals materialised. PSG started to make some substitutes and Chelsea also brought on Demba Ba for Frank Lampard on the 65th minute. Chelsea continued to plug away to get the second goal but it wasn’t forthcoming. PSG actually had a chance to put this tie to bed on the 77th minute when Cavani had a great chance to score, but he instead side footed it over the bar much to the relief of the Chelsea players and fans.
ChelseaÂ’s final substitute was made on 81 minutes with Torres coming on for Oscar. With all 3 strikers on the pitch now, one of them surely had to score. Six minutes later thatÂ’s exactly what happened as a long ball entered the box, which was cleared into the path of Azpilicueta who tried to score from 20 yards out. The ball was deflected across the box where Ba was lurking at the far post and he stuck his leg out and bundled it into the back of the net. The unlikely hero of the night and not many people would have seen that coming. Cue the wild celebrations and a typical run from manager Jose Mourinho as he rushed up the line to give instructions to his players as they celebrated.
Chelsea now just had to hang on, and despite PSG trying to get a goal back, this was the English club’s night. Four minutes added time and PSG continued to try to score but Cech pulled out some of his best saves to keep the team’s clean sheet. The final whistle blew and the celebrations started, with a mixture of relief and sheer happiness. This will be remembered for a very long time.
We are the impossible. We are Chelsea.
