Chelsea 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain (3-3 on agg, Chelsea win on away goals) (Champions League) – 8th April 2014

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A late strike from Demba Ba sealed a 2-0 win over PSG and saw Chelsea reach the Champions League semi-final stage for the 7th time in 11 years.

Chelsea, who trailed 3-1 from the first leg, took the lead in the first half through substitute Andre Schurrle, but they had to wait for the crucial second that sent them through. With just three minutes left, Ba managed to scramble to ball home to send the Blues through to the semis and the home crowd into wild celebrations.

Jose Mourinho sprinted down to join the celebrating players after Demba Ba’s goal. It was almost a carbon copy of his run down the touchline at Old Trafford in 2004 when in charge of Porto.

That kind of win looked unlikely in the opening stages after a lacklustre first 20 minutes for the Blues. To top that off, Eden Hazard picked up an injury and had to come off after just 18 minutes, with Schurrle coming on in his place.

The forced change proved to be an inspiration to the home side’s chances of success as Schurrle put the Blues in front. The PSG defence failed to deal with a long throw from Branislav Ivanovic, and David Luiz teed up the German to fire Chelsea ahead and set them on their way to the comeback.

In the second half, the only thing keeping PSG in the competition was the woodwork, with two Chelsea efforts bouncing off the bar and back in to play. Man of the moment Schurrle beat keeper Salvatore Sirigu but saw his strike come back off the framework. Oscar then suffered the same fate as his great free kick also came back off the bar.

With just under 25 minutes to go, Mourinho sent on Ba for Frank Lampard. 15 minutes later Fernando Torres came on for Oscar to join Samuel Eto’o up front, as Chelsea chased a second goal.

PSG couldn’t take their chances on the break, and Chelsea’s pressure finally told when Ba found the net to put Chelsea back in the lead in the tie. PSG then raced forward but Petr Cech was on hand to ensure Chelsea made the semi-finals for the third time under Mourinho.

After the game, the manager explained his touchline run after Ba’s goal. He said he did it, “Not to celebrate – to tell Fernando and Demba the changes we had to do, because there was still three minutes plus added time and with that amount of time left, playing like we were playing, it was too risky. I wanted to use my two freshest players for a different job in the last period.

“We did enough in the beginning of the second half to score, but we couldn’t and after that there was a bit of a contradiction in terms of what PSG are and what they were saying yesterday – they played pure counter-attack, with no ball possession, just getting behind using counter-attack and closing everything.

“It was difficult for us to penetrate in that second part of the second half, so I played Demba and Fernando. We had looked at different systems yesterday and the players knew what to do. Demba made a crucial finish for us and I think it was very much deserved.

“The team that decided to defend was punished. The team that gave everything, sometimes with their hearts, deserved to go through to the semis.”

LCN Man of the Match: Gary Cahill

Chelsea v Paris Saint Germain Match Preview (Champions League) – 8th April 2014

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Chelsea face Paris Saint Germain in their Champions League second leg looking to overturn a 3-1 deficit from their meeting in the French capital last week.

Javier Pastore’s injury time effort has given Chelsea a difficult task to make the semi-finals for a third time under Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager blasted his side’s sloppy defending after the game, but their weekend win over Stoke was their 8th consecutive clean sheet at home, so that problem shouldn’t come up again.

A 2-0 win would be enough to send the Blues through on the away goals rule, with this game very similar to the last 16 clash against Napoli in 2012, the year Chelsea won the trophy.

With six wins on the bounce at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are in great form ahead of this game, but they face a problem in the centre of midfield. John Obi Mikel is out with an injury, while Ramires is suspended and Nemanja Matic is cup-tied. It’s likely that David Luiz and Frank Lampard will be Mourino’s only two options in central midfield in this game.

The Blues are also without striker Samuel Eto’o, so Fernando Torres is likely to retain his position as the lone striker. Eden Hazard and Oscar were both left out of the starting line up against Stoke, so they should be in great condition for this game. Oscar, however, could find himself on the bench again, given his patchy recent form and the superb displays from Willian and Mohammed Salah at the weekend.

Chelsea’s defence will remain unchanged as usual, despite Mourinho’s complaints about their defending last week. Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta have started the last ten games, with that consistency helping to build a solid defensive unit.

As for PSG, they’ll likely be missing their star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after he went off injured in the first leg. The French side will probably move Edinson Cavani in to the middle, and will still have enough attacking talent to worry Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho is looking forward to the game, but he’s aware of just difficult their task is. “We can approach the match against Paris with a smile. It’s what we need for such a difficult match and such an almost impossible job to do. I think the best way to try to do it is to have a smile and go at them.”

Mourinho added: “I want to enjoy that game. I enjoy the difficulty.
“Now we know that we need to win 2-0, 3-1, 4-1, 5-2. We know that we need a crazy result against Paris.
“We must be ready to go without fear, go at them and no problems and see what happens.
“If we have to lose to lose after a magnificent night of football, a magnificent night of emotion, if we have to lose.”

LCN Verdict: Chelsea to win 2-0 and qualify on away goals

Chelsea 3 – 0 Stoke (Premier League) – 5th April 2014

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Chelsea put their run of back to back defeats behind them with a comfortable 3-0 win over Stoke, but manager Jose Mourinho is still refusing to recognise their status as Premier League contenders.

Goals from Mohammed Salah, Frank Lampard and Willian sent the Blues above Liverpool and back to the top of the table (for a while at least). Salah impressed on his first start for the club, playing a big part in the win which sets Mourinho’s side up for their crucial Champions League clash with Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday night.

With Tuesday’s game in mind, the hosts made several changes with Oscar and Eden Hazard both left out of the starting line up. Neither man was missed as Chelsea’s midfield fired them to victory. Salah opened the scoring after half an hour, slotting home from Nemanja Matic’s cut back.

Branislav Ivanovic had a goal disallowed for offside, with replays showing he was only narrowly off. Chelsea went in at the break with just a goal advantage, but Belgian Hazard was introduced just after the break for Andre Schurrle, and he linked up with Salah, which led to Andy Wilkinson bringing down the Egyptian and conceding a penalty.

Frank Lampard missed from the spot, but Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic spilled the ball and Lampard was first in line to poke the ball home on the rebound to effectively wrap up the points.

The pace of the game began to slow down, but then Willian ran at the Stoke defence before shifting the ball on to his right foot and curling in a magnificent strike that his performance merited. After that goal, Willian was withdrawn ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League game, with Ashley Cole coming on to make a rare appearance.

Despite the good win, Mourinho is still refusing to say his team are part of the title fight, with Manchester City and Liverpool still favourites to lift the trophy. When pressed on their title changes he said, “The situation is the same. The table is fake. The table is again with lots of matches in hand.”

The Portuguese is more hopeful over their chances for next season, especially after their latest win. “The players can go home with smiles on their faces,” Mourinho said. “He [Salah] is improving, step by step. We knew he was a player for the next season and can use this season to improve. Next season we have kids like him – Oscar, Eden Hazard, Willian and Andre Schurrle – all of them 20 to 25, all talented and with time to reach the top of the game.”

Chelsea still have a chance of winning the Champions League for the second time in two years, but first they have a 3-1 deficit to overturn. “We have to enjoy the match on Tuesday and not to be scared of it, not lose the tie and go out,” Mourinho said. “[To] enjoy it is the best way to play this match because of the difficulty of this situation.”

LCN Man of the Match: Mohammed Salah

Chelsea v Stoke City (Premier League) – 5th April 2014

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Chelsea aim to get their Premier League challenge back on track when they face Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. Having suffered their third straight defeat away from home against PSG in midweek, a return home should be good for The Blues.

They were knocked off the top of the Premier League table last week after suffering a defeat to Crystal Palace, with Liverpool jumping ahead of them after a 4-0 win over Spurs. City and Liverpool now look the frontrunners for the title, with Jose Mourinho even ruling out their chances last weekend.

Chelsea have a lot of work to do, possibly too much according to Mourinho, but one win has changed the landscape of the title race in recent weeks. Liverpool and City both face quite difficult games, so with the title pressure off Chelsea could they haul themselves back in the race this weekend?

They’ll have to do it without a couple of important players. Ramires is currently suspended in both the Premier League and Champions League, after his red card at Aston Villa and booking against PSG in midweek. Samuel Eto’o is also unavailable, with the striker facing a race to get fit for next Tuesday’s return leg against the French side.

With that game following so closely after the clash with Stoke, we may see some players rested for this one. There are likely to be changes in Mourinho’s side anyway, as he has criticised the recent performances of both his attackers and defenders in the last week.

Lack of options in defence means the regular back four will probably feature again, unless John Terry or Gary Cahill are rested and replaced with David Luiz. Nemanja Matic, who is ineligible for the Champions League, will likely return to the side. After their striker-less line up on Wednesday Fernando Torres will probably come in for Andre Schurrle, while Mo Salah could be in line for his first Chelsea start if one of the attackers are rested.

Chelsea suffered a defeat when they met Stoke earlier in the season, going down 3-2 after a late goal from Ousama Assaidi. They have already beaten Stoke at Stamford Bridge this season though, with Oscar scoring in a 1-0 win in the FA Cup.

1-0 has been the final score in Stoke’s last three visits to Stamford Bridge, and with the Potters in good form that wouldn’t be a bad result for the Pensioners on Sunday. Stoke hit four past Aston Villa just a week after Chelsea went there and lost 2-0, so they’re now a side capable of scoring a few away from home.

Chelsea need a defensive performance after their poor showing in midweek, and while Stoke’s two Peters, Odemwingie and Crouch, aren’t exactly Ibrahimovic and Cavani, they’re still a threat. A good defensive performance and result would build momentum ahead of a crucial tie with PSG on Tuesday night and that’s what we predict.

LCN Verdict: Chelsea to win 1-0

Paris Saint Germain 3 – 1 Chelsea (Champions League) – 2nd April 2014

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Chelsea have been left with an uphill task to make the semi finals of the Champions League after a 3-1 defeat by PSG. Manager Jose Mourinho blasted his usually reliable defenders after the game for, “joke defending”.

Ezequiel Lavezzi fired home just three minutes in to the game to put the hosts ahead. Brazilian playmaker Oscar won a penalty for his side after being fouled in the area, which Eden Hazard confidently swept home midway through the first period.

David Luiz restored the hosts’ lead with an hour gone as he bundled the ball in to his own goal, before Javier Pastore fired home in added time, beating Petr Cech after a mazy run through the Blues penalty box.

Before the game Mourinho sent out a warning to his strikers, by leaving them all out of the starting 11. German winger Andre Schurrle started up front with Willian, Hazard and Oscar in support in the regular 4-2-3-1 formation.

But, it was the Chelsea defending that let Mourinho down as a PSG winger put the hosts ahead early on. John Terry misplaced a headed clearance with just three minutes gone, sending it straight in to the path of Lavezzi, and the Argentine volleyed it past Cech and in to the top left hand corner.

With the half hour mark approaching Oscar drew a clumsy foul from his international team mate Thiago Silva and the referee pointed to the spot. Hazard stepped up and coolly dispatched the penalty, a goal which his fine overall performance deserved.

The teams were level going in to the second half, but PSG’s attacking talents were troubling the Chelsea back four from the start of the second half, and they got their reward after 61 minutes. Luiz gave away a free kick wide on the left, and Lavezzi’s wicked cross was turned in to his own goal by the Brazilian.

Pastore gave his side a two goal lead late in the game, when he jinked through the box beating Chelsea defenders with ease before seeing his low shot fly past Petr Cech.

Mourinho didn’t hold back after the game, calling out his defenders for their poor showing. “The third was not a goal, it’s a joke. Gary Cahill says ‘sloppy’. I say ‘ridiculous’,” said the Portuguese boss.

“We played against a great team with fantastic attacking players and you would expect them to score fantastic goals, not the goals they scored. We assisted the striker for the first goal. For the second goal, the way the team was positioned defensively was not right. The third was ridiculous.”

A clearly unhappy Mourinho then explained his team selection, after he left both of his available strikers out of the starting line up. “I’m not happy with my strikers, I have to try things. With Andre, at least I know we have one more player to have the ball, we have one more player to associate with the other players.

“Football is also about scoring goals. That is for strikers, for real strikers. I had to try.” Try as they might, the fact remains the Pensioners now have a huge task ahead of them at the Bridge next week.

LCN Man of the Match: Eden Hazard