Havana, March 11 (RHC) – Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defeated Chelsea 5-2 at home today to take the lead in the round of 16 of the Champions League, with a key goal from Vitinha and a brace from Khivicha Kvaratskhelia.
In a packed Parc des Princes, filled to nearly 50,000 seats, PSG took the lead in the 10th minute after a well-worked team move that culminated in a left-footed strike into the top corner by Bradley Barcola. However, a defensive lapse allowed French full-back Malo Gusto to fire past Matvei Safonov in the 28th minute, leveling the score.
The PSG goalkeeper was crucial a few minutes later, stopping a venomous shot from Cole Palmer. This save sparked a counter-attack masterfully finished off by Ousmane Dembélé in the 40th minute, a goal that ignited the enthusiastic home crowd.
The second half maintained the end-to-end pace until, in the 56th minute, Argentine Enzo Fernández, also on a counter-attack, made it 2-2.
Just when the pace of the game seemed to slow, Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen made a glaring error, and the ball fell to Khivicha Kvaratskhelia, who set up Vitinha for the opening goal in the 74th minute—the Portuguese midfielder’s sixth in the Champions League.
The Georgian maestro was again the star of the show in the 86th minute with a powerful right-footed shot that Jörgensen couldn’t reach, and then added his second goal of the night in stoppage time, bringing his tally to six in the competition.
The defending champions of UEFA’s premier club competition will take to the pitch at Stamford Bridge in London next Tuesday, looking to secure their place in the quarterfinals.
For PSG, tonight’s victory allowed them to avenge their defeat last July in the Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New York, where a surprising 3-0 loss to Chelsea denied them an unprecedented seven titles this season.
In the other Champions League first-leg results on Wednesday, Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal drew 1-1, while Real Madrid and the surprising Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt thrashed Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon 3-0, respectively.
