Lacklustre Blues OUT of Champions League on away goals

Chelsea 2-2 PSG (3-3 agg)

Chelsea have crashed out of the Champions League on away goals after Thiago Silva’s header deep into extra-time sent ten-man Paris Saint-Germain to the quarter-finals.

 

In a physical and theatrical Stamford Bridge encounter, the Blues were outplayed by the French champions who refused to go out with a whimper despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s harsh sending off after just 30 minutes.

Jose Mourinho’s side looked on the ropes late into the second-half but suddenly took the lead on 81 minutes thanks to Gary Cahill’s sweet finish from a corner.

But the hosts were soon punished for some unconvincing marking as former defender David Luiz headed PSG level moments later to force extra-time.

A handball from Silva shortly after the re-start allowed Eden Hazard to fire the Blues back in front from the penalty spot, but the PSG skipper later turned hero to loop a last-gasp header over Thibaut Courtois to send Chelsea’s treble hopes up in smoke.

It will be a game noted more for its bullish challenges than its dazzling play, with neither side really coming close to a goal in a cagey first-half.

No doubt the talking point will be Ibrahimovic’s dismissal for a late tackle on Blues playmaker Oscar, which was universally accepted as the wrong decision by referee Bjorn Kuipers.

Nine Chelsea players surrounded the Dutchman after Oscar went to ground, and the official took just seconds to consider his options before brandishing the red to PSG’s star man.

Emotions ran high throughout the tie and Chelsea’s frustrations threatened to boil over when the referee failed to spot an off-the-ball incident between David Luiz and Diego Costa.

And Costa was involved again moments later, the Spaniard pounding the turf like a tantrum-throwing child after he was denied what seemed a certain penalty after he dribbled round a handful of players on his way into the box only to be tripped by Edinson Cavani.

PSG emerged from the break with fire in their bellies as Chelsea failed to make the most of their man advantage, and the visitors should have gone in front when Cavani hit the post with the goal at his mercy.

After a defence-splitting pass put the Uruguayan clean through, Cavani put Courtois on his backside with a brilliant dummy but took a second too long to readjust as his angled drive clipped the near upright.

Meanwhile, the cards continued the fly, with Costa finally having his name taken by the referee for a tackle on Silva which was arguably worse than the one which saw Ibrahimovic sent off, while Luiz was booked after attempting to con the official - who wasn’t fooled - into thinking Costa had headbutted him.

The game had been as scrappy as you like until the final ten minutes, as Cahill’s goal – the England international lashing a fine volley into the top corner after PSG failed to clear – woke the French side up.

And it took them just minutes to equalise as Luiz stuck it to his critics with a thumping header, beating former team-mate Branislav Ivanovic in the air, to secure an additional 30 minutes.

Chelsea had been fortunate to find themselves still within a shot of progression and it seemed they had been handed a last-eight spot on a plate when Silva’s needless handball gave Hazard the chance to restore the hosts’ lead from the spot - one he took with style, waiting for the keeper to make his move before rolling the ball into the opposite corner.

But the Parisians deservedly had the final word.

Courtois appeared to have saved his side with a superb late stop to keep out Silva’s bullet header, and the Blues didn’t learn their lesson as the Brazil star rose highest at the resulting corner to beat the goalkeeper and send the plucky visitors through.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich romped their way into their fourth consecutive Champions League quarter-final with a sensational 7-0 victory over ten-man Shakhtar Donetsk.

The German giants were held to a 0-0 draw in the away first-leg, but they blew the Turkish side away at the Allianz Arena, with Thomas Muller opening the scoring from the spot in the third minute after defender Olexandr Kucher was shown the quickest red card in Champions League history.

Jerome Boateng made it 2-0 before the break, with five second-half goals - Muller netting a second with Ribery, Badstuber, Lewandowski and Götze also finding the net - seeing Bayern comfortably into the last-eight.