PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 2-1 CHELSEA
Guus Hiddink insists Chelsea are still in with a chance in the Champions League despite losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave PSG the lead when his drilled free kick was deflected in by John Obi Mikel, but minutes later poor defending by Marquinhos allowed the Nigerian to score from six yards out.
Despite Edinson Cavani coming off the bench to fire past Thibault Courtois from a tight angle ten minutes from time, Hiddink said his side have every chance of a result at home that would put Chelsea in the quarter-finals for the first time in three years.
“I think it’s still 50-50,” Hiddink said. “Of course, a defeat is never a good or a nice feeling but you have to consider it’s a two-legged game.
“Scoring away is always good and we emphasise that. We had good, tactical defensive organisation.
“On top of that we were dangerous but we were not lethal with the four or five counters we had.
“It’s not a dramatic loss. Losing 2-1, we are still in the race.”
Chelsea welcome PSG to Stamford Bridge on March 9, with crucial games against Manchester City in the FA Cup and Southampton in the Premier League in the meantime.
Hiddink said he would be preparing his side for the return leg against a dangerous opponent in the coming weeks.
“They [PSG] know how to defend,” Hiddink said. “We also have the quality to outplay their midfield one on one which we did several times with Willian.
“Their defence has to make choices as well.
“They have a nose for creating danger where you are weak.
“You must be very alert because if you lack concentration for three or four seconds they will take advantage as they did for their second goal.
“There are some weeks to prepare for it and I hope everyone is on board for the second leg.”
The Chelsea boss declared himself satisfied with the overall performance of his makeshift team, featuring summer signing Baba Rahman at left back in the absence of John Terry and Kurt Zouma.
“Bearing in mind we were playing a very good strong team the performance of our players was tactically very good,” Hiddink said.
“The players did well, and not just the four defenders. We also had midfielders who did good defensive work. We had to reshuffle.
“Two weeks ago we played with Zouma and Terry, meaning also the full-backs had different positions. I’m happy with all their performances.”
Image courtesy of Chelsea FC via YouTube, with thanks
