Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior blamed ‘a loopy quarter-hour’ after a catastrophic late collapse in opposition to Paris St-Germain left their European dream in tatters.
A 5-2 defeat at the Parc des Princes leaves the Blues staring down the barrel of a last-16 Champions League exit, however the method of defeat will hang-out Rosenior and his gamers.
Chelsea had battled again twice to stage and appeared set to flee with an important draw when catastrophe struck within the 74th minute. Filip Jorgensen’s careless cross was intercepted by Bradley Barcola, who teed up substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to arrange Vitinha for a chip over the stranded keeper.
What adopted was a whole meltdown. Kvaratskhelia added two late targets whereas the night time descended into chaos – Pedro Neto wrestled a ball boy to the bottom in a wrestle for the ball, and vice-captain Enzo Fernandez was seen furiously confronting Jorgensen after one other error led to a disallowed objective.
The brave efficiency that noticed Malo Gusto and Fernandez cancel out strikes from Barcola and Ousmane Dembele was utterly undone by a collapse within the remaining quarter of an hour.
“A really disappointing outcome on a night the place for a lot of the sport we have been actually comfortable,” Rosenior mentioned. “The final quarter-hour have been loopy. That’s on me.
“We must be higher in moments when setbacks and errors occur. You want to keep calm within the second, me included. It’s a painful one as a result of for 75 minutes we have been within the tie.”
Jorgensen’s Blunder: The Turning Level in Paris
Jorgensen has solely lately displaced Robert Sanchez in objective however on a week littered with goalkeeping errors his was pricey.
“Gamers make errors,” Rosenior insisted. “Filip is just not the primary to make a mistake. In that second at 2-2 we’re within the ascendency. Within the prime stage it’s fantastic margins. The fifth objective was probably the most painful one. We didn’t take care of a fundamental sample of play, they scored a fifth and made the tie very troublesome.”
Neto provided his shirt to the ball boy he’d knocked over, however the incident solely added to a depressing night for the Blues.
“If there was something from our aspect that was flawed or out of order I apologise on behalf of the membership,” mentioned Rosenior.
Chelsea’s ambition in taking over the European champions backfired as their defensive naivety was ruthlessly uncovered. They gave Dembele and Barcola far an excessive amount of area, did not compete for second balls, and have been repeatedly carved open by PSG’s fast transitions.
“We’ve shot ourselves within the foot and made this tie very troublesome,” Rosenior admitted. “Even at 4-2, it’s not the very best outcome however we’re nonetheless proper on this at Stamford Bridge. The fifth objective, that’s the painful one. It’s one thing I actually have to unravel. We’re very near being an excellent staff.”
PSG supervisor Luis Enrique acknowledged his aspect had been examined.
“It has been troublesome however I feel all people supporting PSG was comfortable as a result of the result’s good. It was very powerful as a result of each groups have been making an attempt to play soccer,” he mentioned. “That is a very powerful second for us on this competitors, we all know it’s going to be powerful away at Chelsea. I feel we performed effectively at a excessive stage in opposition to a troublesome aspect. I’m comfortable.”
The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals is:
Paris Saint-Germain or Chelsea v Galatasaray or Liverpool
Real Madrid or Manchester Metropolis v Atalanta or Bayern Munich
Newcastle or Barcelona v Atletico Madrid or Tottenham
Bodo/Glimt or Sporting CP v Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal
The draw for the Champions League semi-finals is:
Silver path: PSG/Chelsea/Galatasaray/Liverpool v Actual Madrid/Manchester Metropolis/Atalanta/Bayern Munich
Blue path: Newcastle/Barcelona/Atlético Madrid/Tottenham v Bodo/Sporting CP/Bayer Leverkusen/Arsenal
