PSG 2-1 Chelsea: 5 Talking Points
Zlatan scored the first goal of the gameIn what was a repeat of last year’s fixture, hosts PSG dispatched off Chelsea 2-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 game at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris today. Coming into the tie having lost only one game this season, PSG started out strong against what seemed like a rejuvenated Chelsea side. Chelsea soon gained momentum, but it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who ended up scoring at the other end. The goal came off a free-kick which was deflected off John Obi Mikel, who gave away the free-kick in the first place.Chelsea equalised near the end of the first half, Mikel scored from a set piece and grabbed a much needed away goal for his side. However, late substitute Edinson Cavani then scored a spectacular goal for PSG to take his side into the second leg with an advantage.Here are the major talking points from the game:
#1 Goalkeepers\' day out
It was a high-end action packed and a very close game we got to witness, a fact which would not have been made possible without the contributions of the two goalkeepers. Both Thibaut Courtois and Kevin Trapp were amazing tonight.
Kevin Trapp had an almost dream of a game. His reflex save to deny Diego Costa from point-blank range in the 23rd minute was undoubtedly the save of the day. He was brilliant on many other occasions as well, coming off the line to deny the Chelsea forwards at every opportunity. He kept Costa in check for the entire game and denied Oscar late on to stop Chelsea from equalising.
The Belgian on the other end had a pretty great game too, stopping the constant PSG threats from coming to fruition. He did let Edinson Cavani’s late winner get past too easily, but that was probably the only time he was at fault.