Five Things Learnt from Chelsea’s exit
Blues defeated in Champions League Last-16
Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League last night following a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge, resulting in a 4-2 loss on aggregate against Paris Saint-Germain.
The French side had a 2-1 advantage going into the evening and goals from Adrien Rabiot and Zlatan Ibrahimovic put the game to bed, despite Diego Costa finding the net for the hosts.
It means Chelsea will now have to wait at least a season to be back in the Champions League, with their hopes of finishing top-four in the Premier League all-but over.
But what did we take from the game last night? Here are our Five Things learnt.
5) PSG Are Good Despite Woeful League
Before the tie, everyone was asking how good actually are Paris Saint-Germain. Well over the two-legs they’ve proven they are actually a very good footballing side.
They play in one of the worst leagues in Europe, and to put it into perspective for you, they could be crowned Ligue 1 champions this weekend, and they rarely get tested on a weekly basis.
So when it comes to playing against a top club, albeit an under-performing top-club, it was questioned how well they’d perform.
Well they certainly shut up those doubters over the two legs by playing some lovely football and controlling both games and eventually eliminating the Premier League champions.
So despite not playing in the best of leagues, PSG have shown they are still a very solid unit.
4) Eden Hazard Isn’t With It
Lets be honest, we all knew this already, but last night was just more confirmation that Eden Hazard doesn’t want to be at Chelsea.
He’s gone from PFA Player of the Year to an invisible man for Chelsea, only scoring in the FA Cup so far this season.
His performance last night was pathetic and to top it off, he decided to swap shirts with Angel Di Maria at half-time on the pitch in front of everyone.
Fair to say the fans are not happy with the Belgian and you can’t argue with them really. The winger hasn’t tried at all this season and has made it very clear he’s not happy at Stamford Bridge, despite what he says in the media.
Actions speak louder than words after-all.
3) Zlatan Ibrahimovic Can Still Produce
Two games. Two goals. One assist. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still a big-match player.
His goal in the first-leg was very fortuitous as it took a massive deflection off John Obi Mikel, but there was nothing lucky about his second-leg display.
A beautiful assist for Adrien Rabiot to give PSG the lead and then a typical striker’s finish to put the tie to bed in the second-half.
Ibrahimovic, who becomes a free agent in the summer, has shown he can still produce when it matters and is still a player for the big moments.
Someone get him to the Premier League!
2) How Did Angel Di Maria Fail In England?
Watching Angel Di Maria last night was a joy to behold. How on earth did he fail at Manchester United?!
Everyone was buzzing when United landed the Argentine winger from Real Madrid, and although he showed glimpses of what he can produce, he simply flopped in the Premier League and quickly abandoned ship to PSG (where he wanted to go in the first place).
Di Maria showed last night that he is capable of playing against English opponents and he once again showed how good of a player he actually is.
He’s lightning on the ball, he’s a nuisance for defenders and he just always looks to get involved. Despite not scoring, he did get himself an assist for the Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal, which makes it two assists from the two games against Chelsea.
Such a shame he flopped in England.
1) When Will Chelsea Be Back?
For the first time ever under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea won’t be in the Champions League next season.
They finished outside the top-four once under the Russian, but that year they managed to win the competition, booking their spot in the following year.
However, last night’s elimination and the fact they won’t get top-four this season means there will be no Champions League football at Stamford Bridge next year.
The question is, when will it return?
With the management situation still up in the air and the uncertainty surrounding several player’s futures, who knows when Chelsea could be back in the elite competition.
It’s a massive summer for the Blues and probably a future-deciding one.
So there are our Five Things learnt from PSG’s Champions League victory.
What did you make of the game?
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt