John Obi Mikel grabs Chelsea lifeline with crucial away goal

Paris St Germain 2 Chelsea 1

In other seasons, when Chelsea were a more formidable team, this might actually have been considered a productive result before a return leg under the floodlights at Stamford Bridge. They did, after all, recover from a 3-1 deficit to qualify for the next round when these sides met two years ago and managed the same against Napoli in the year they won the competition. That, however, was the old Chelsea whereas the new version are currently languishing 12th in the Premier League and Edinson Cavani’s second-half winner probably gives Paris St Germain the edge when they renew acquaintances.

It is a close-run thing, though, and that shows the level of effort Chelsea put in on a night when they were missing their two first-choice centre-halves and facing a team that attacked from all angles. John Terry's absence deprived Chelsea of a reassuring presence in their back-line but Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic have been part of some of the club's great nights and after some early vulnerability, Chelsea defended with great vigour in the face of some prolonged pressure.

They will be grateful for a rare goal from Mikel John Obi but on the balance of play it would be difficult to argue that Laurent Blanc's team did not deserve to win. Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave them the lead with a free-kick that went in off Mikel and Cavani, a substitute, finally beat Thibaut Courtois for a second time when he ran on to Angel Di María's clipped pass and shot between the goalkeeper's legs.

Blanc’s team moved the ball around with the confidence that might have been expected of a team 24 points clear at the top of Ligue 1. They pinned Chelsea back during the opening exchanges and kept possession in a way that was beyond their opponents. Di María was full of deft little touches, fully recovered from that anaemic time at Manchester United, and it quickly became apparent that if Chelsea could not show all their old qualities of resilience it could easily spiral into a long, painful ordeal.

Guus Hiddink's side survived the early onslaught but it was not until the midway point of the first half when they were emboldened to start knocking the ball around with a sense of belonging. Their first flurry of adventure ought to have given them some encouragement, too, about the potential flaws in PSG's defence. Even before Mikel showed there was a way beyond that all-Brazilian back four Chelsea would have taken the lead if Kevin Trapp, the home team's goalkeeper, had not managed to jut out his right glove to turn a Diego Costa header on to the crossbar.

Until that point it had been a story of near-unremitting pressure on the Chelsea goal. Marco Verratti and Lucas Moura both took aim at Courtois’s goal in the early exchanges. Ibrahimovic had other opportunities and it needed César Azpilicueta’s awareness and covering to spare Cahill after Lucas had eluded the Chelsea centre-half from Di María’s expertly delivered through ball.

Chelsea’s problem during the opening period of the game, and intermittently afterwards, was their lack of control on the ball, inviting more pressure through moments of carelessness. Yet the headed chance for Costa, after a left-wing cross from Baba Rahman, did seem to clear their minds and thereafter they played much more fluently. Cesc Fàbregas came more into the game and the same applied to Pedro Rodríguez when he moved inside from the wide positions to find the space behind Costa.

As for Mikel, there was a mix of good and bad. After 39 minutes it was his unnecessary foul on Lucas, as the Brazilian scampered through the middle, that left Ibrahimovic with the ball in his hands, lining up a free-kick a few yards outside the penalty area. These are not the moments for a player in the defensive wall to turn his back and Mikel should be far too experienced to leave himself vulnerable in such a way. Ibrahimovic’s free-kick skimmed off Mikel’s ankle and the ball was flying at such a speed the deflection gave Courtois no chance of correcting his position to make the save.

At least Mikel showed the presence of mind to make amends. He was an unlikely scorer, this being only his sixth goal in 10 years with Chelsea, but he took his chance well after the ball landed at his feet via Willian’s corner and a small but crucial touch from Costa at the near post. His shot beat Trapp from six yards and that was the final kick of the first half.

Chelsea looked a lot better than a team whose placing in the Premier League is their best since October and Costa might have put them ahead early in the second half only for Trapp to deny him again. Yet the pressure accelerated again around the hour mark. PSG suddenly hit their opponents with a concerted wave of attacking, coming at them from every angle. Courtois tipped over a soaring long-range effort from Di María and saved again when Lucas had the next effort. At one point Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic could both be seen throwing themselves into the way of a Blaise Matuidi shot. Chelsea had to give everything in those moments.

Unfortunately for Hiddink, they could not hold out and Cavani fired in the winner with an angled right-foot finish.

(Guardian service)