Today in the Champions League Round of 16, Chelsea, an English midtable club best known for generously overpaying players and whose name was uttered alongside words like “relegation” just weeks ago, bravely stormed across the English Channel to take on French champions Paris Saint-Germain, who have had Ligue 1 wrapped up since like Halloween. Chelsea lost, but they almost didn’t.
Chelsea were predictably outclassed and on the back foot for most of the first half, and PSG finally broke through when Zlatan Ibrahimović ricocheted a free kick through the wall to wrong-foot keeper Thibaut Courtois, but Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel slammed home a point-blank shot from a free kick just before half to equalize.
It seemed Chelsea would escape with a draw until 12 minutes before time, when Ángel Di María received a pass, turned to goal, and chipped a perfect pass over the top to sad substitute Edinson Cavani, who was able to keep the ball low for what would be the winning goal.
The game was good and fun; PSG won 2-1; the two teams run it back in London on March 9.
[FS1]