Chelsea 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain (agg 3-3)
Jose Mourinho conceded Chelsea could not deal with the pressure of their Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain after the French side beat them on away goals last night.
After a 1-1 draw in the first tie, Thiago Silva’s extra time header cancelled out Eden Hazard’s penalty to earn PSG progression – even though they play more than 90 minutes with 10 men after Zlatan Ibrahimovic was harshly sent off in the first half.
Chelsea toiled against the 10 men, but looked to be going through when Gary Cahill put them in front only for ex-Blue David Luiz to thump in a header late on and force extra time.
“PSG deserved to win,” said Mourinho.
“When a team cannot defend two corners, and concedes twice, that team doesn’t deserve to win.
“When a team cannot cope with the pressure of being with one player more playing at home, and the stadium doesn’t accept the team has to control the game and want them to go on and win it – we couldn’t cope with that pressure.
“Clearly some of my players couldn’t cope with that pressure.”
Despite the ugly night, Mourinho urged his players to move on from the loss and concentrate on seeking Premier League glory ahead of their clash with Southampton on Sunday.
“I’m disappointed but I try always to be pragmatic,” he said.
“We have a Premier League to win, I told that to the players. There’s no time to cry.
“Winning the Premier League and the Capital One Cup – that would still be a fantastic season for us. We move forward.”
PSG boss Laurent Blanc felt his side’s progression gives them a chance to become a major force in Europe.
“We want to sit at the top table, so I’m very happy with this result,” he said.
“As for the incidents in the game, matches at the highest level are full of pressure and tension. Both sides put pressure on the opposition, and Chelsea did their fair share of that.”
Feature image courtesy of Sky Sports, with thanks
