Paris Saint Germain vs Chelsea Football Club:
One Dark Horse Must Fall
WHY THE BEST DRAW?
In all of the eight ties, there is a clear favorite: Bayern, Real, Porto, Barca, Juve, Atleti, Arsenal & Chelsea. While it would surprise no one if there were multiple upsets in this round, the talent level and depth at PSG makes this the least lopsided pairing of the lot.
A rematch of an exciting quarter final duel in last year's competition, there is also a revenge factor. In 2014 the aggregate score was a 3-3 tie, with Chelsea going through having scored the only away goal. A rarely used Chelsea substitute, Demba Ba, scored a frantic goal in the 87th minute of the second leg, ending PSG's run. Except for that most unlikely occurrence, Chelsea would be the team seeking vengeance this year.
Chelsea have had the stronger 2014-2015 season, adding multiple key pieces (Fabregas/Matic/Costa) who are central to their current strategy, and are point leaders in the Premier League at the moment, ahead by a comfortable seven points.
Back-to-back French champions PSG are almost unchanged, and while they are not running away with the Ligue 1 title as they did the previous two years, part of the reason for that is the resurgence of longtime rival Lyon, and the excellent tactician Marcelo Bielsa taking over Marseille. Two points off the current leaders, they're still very much in the hunt for a three-peat. PSG also were strong in the Champions League group stages, most notably when they defeated Barcelona 3-2.
The other clash of the titans in this round is also a rematch. Manchester City lost by an aggregate score of 4-1 to Barcelona last year in what was a notable letdown of an encounter. Defending deep even at home, Pelligrini's tactically timid City was dismantled. Like Chelsea, Barcelona have made key personnel improvements (Suarez/Rakitic) while Man. City have not.
Both Man. City and Barcelona sit second in their respective leagues now, but Barcelona have won their last ten matches and are starting to look like the team no one would want to play, while City have recently tied Hull and lost to second division side Middlesbrough.
When this year's Champions League kicked off in September, both Chelsea and PSG were thought to be dark horse contenders. This still holds true, with Chelsea just outside of the front-runner spotlight now, and PSG having become more of a long shot.
TACTICAL ASPECTS
Offensive Bread & Butter
Chelsea's main offensive threat this year is the combination of Fabregas and Costa, who lead the Premier League in assists and goals, respectively. Fabregas is a plodding, heady player who likes to orchestrate an attack with a series of concerted passes, all the while looking to connect with Costa directly. As David Luiz is sure to get lured out of position by Chelsea's build-up play, this necessitates that Tiago Silva be wary of balls lobbed in or played diagonally to Costa in the box, especially from Fabregas.
While it's easy to imagine Ibrahimovic saying something like, "Zlatan is PSG's bread, and the butter," he would be right. The Swede has scored one out of every three of PSG's goals since arriving in 2012 and leading them back to French glory. While Chelsea's experienced central defensive pairing of Terry and Cahill are up for the task, many of Ibrahimovic's goals are scored despite strong defending.
The Midfield Equation
PSG boast two impressive two-way midfielders in Matuidi and Verratti. Both tackle with verve and distribute on tempo, and provide a sprite link between their defense and their three attackers. If both Cabaye and Motta are unavailable, Pastore may be called apon, which is problematic because he is not likely to defend effectively, and would leave Matuidi and Verratti open to being overrun by Chelsea's five midfield players. Pastore will be confident, however, as he scored one of the best goals of last season against Chelsea, leaving Azpilicueta and Lampard reeling and Terry rooted as he slashed it in.
While Willian and Hazard track back better than most wingers, Fabregas and Oscar are defenders with tactical sense and able tacklers when asked to be. Chelsea's fifth midfield player, Matic, is Chelsea's enforcer and has been integral to his team's success this year. His only perceivable weakness is his occasional overconfidence going forward, which could leave Ibrahimovic with space between Chelsea's lines. When Matic is rooted, he will most likely be checking Ibrahimovic when he drops back into the midfield to collect the ball, creating a one-on-one situation worth watching. Chelsea will need the defensive qualities of their midfield players to be evident to prevent PSG's sprite duo from delivering passes to their trio of potent attackers.
Secondary Threats
Hazard has had a strong season and terrorizes defenses with the best of them, but his conversion rate is perhaps not what it should be--something his coach recently reminded him of. While the rapid Aurier (injured) might have helped contain his ability to unlock PSG's defense, van der Wiel is also pacy but will need to log a strong performance against Chelsea's defense destabilizer.
Cavani has been playing a decent second fiddle ever since arriving, yet he is often criticized for underachieving because he scores so much less then he did at Napoli. He remains a threat who scored 29 goals three seasons ago, and will try to drag Ivanovic out wide to create space for Ibrahimovic or one of the midfield players to run into.
SUBPLOTS/INTANGIBLES
One Dark Horse Must Fall
WHY THE BEST DRAW?
In all of the eight ties, there is a clear favorite: Bayern, Real, Porto, Barca, Juve, Atleti, Arsenal & Chelsea. While it would surprise no one if there were multiple upsets in this round, the talent level and depth at PSG makes this the least lopsided pairing of the lot.
A rematch of an exciting quarter final duel in last year's competition, there is also a revenge factor. In 2014 the aggregate score was a 3-3 tie, with Chelsea going through having scored the only away goal. A rarely used Chelsea substitute, Demba Ba, scored a frantic goal in the 87th minute of the second leg, ending PSG's run. Except for that most unlikely occurrence, Chelsea would be the team seeking vengeance this year.
Chelsea have had the stronger 2014-2015 season, adding multiple key pieces (Fabregas/Matic/Costa) who are central to their current strategy, and are point leaders in the Premier League at the moment, ahead by a comfortable seven points.
Back-to-back French champions PSG are almost unchanged, and while they are not running away with the Ligue 1 title as they did the previous two years, part of the reason for that is the resurgence of longtime rival Lyon, and the excellent tactician Marcelo Bielsa taking over Marseille. Two points off the current leaders, they're still very much in the hunt for a three-peat. PSG also were strong in the Champions League group stages, most notably when they defeated Barcelona 3-2.
The other clash of the titans in this round is also a rematch. Manchester City lost by an aggregate score of 4-1 to Barcelona last year in what was a notable letdown of an encounter. Defending deep even at home, Pelligrini's tactically timid City was dismantled. Like Chelsea, Barcelona have made key personnel improvements (Suarez/Rakitic) while Man. City have not.
Both Man. City and Barcelona sit second in their respective leagues now, but Barcelona have won their last ten matches and are starting to look like the team no one would want to play, while City have recently tied Hull and lost to second division side Middlesbrough.
When this year's Champions League kicked off in September, both Chelsea and PSG were thought to be dark horse contenders. This still holds true, with Chelsea just outside of the front-runner spotlight now, and PSG having become more of a long shot.
TACTICAL ASPECTS
Offensive Bread & Butter
Chelsea's main offensive threat this year is the combination of Fabregas and Costa, who lead the Premier League in assists and goals, respectively. Fabregas is a plodding, heady player who likes to orchestrate an attack with a series of concerted passes, all the while looking to connect with Costa directly. As David Luiz is sure to get lured out of position by Chelsea's build-up play, this necessitates that Tiago Silva be wary of balls lobbed in or played diagonally to Costa in the box, especially from Fabregas.
While it's easy to imagine Ibrahimovic saying something like, "Zlatan is PSG's bread, and the butter," he would be right. The Swede has scored one out of every three of PSG's goals since arriving in 2012 and leading them back to French glory. While Chelsea's experienced central defensive pairing of Terry and Cahill are up for the task, many of Ibrahimovic's goals are scored despite strong defending.
The Midfield Equation
PSG boast two impressive two-way midfielders in Matuidi and Verratti. Both tackle with verve and distribute on tempo, and provide a sprite link between their defense and their three attackers. If both Cabaye and Motta are unavailable, Pastore may be called apon, which is problematic because he is not likely to defend effectively, and would leave Matuidi and Verratti open to being overrun by Chelsea's five midfield players. Pastore will be confident, however, as he scored one of the best goals of last season against Chelsea, leaving Azpilicueta and Lampard reeling and Terry rooted as he slashed it in.
While Willian and Hazard track back better than most wingers, Fabregas and Oscar are defenders with tactical sense and able tacklers when asked to be. Chelsea's fifth midfield player, Matic, is Chelsea's enforcer and has been integral to his team's success this year. His only perceivable weakness is his occasional overconfidence going forward, which could leave Ibrahimovic with space between Chelsea's lines. When Matic is rooted, he will most likely be checking Ibrahimovic when he drops back into the midfield to collect the ball, creating a one-on-one situation worth watching. Chelsea will need the defensive qualities of their midfield players to be evident to prevent PSG's sprite duo from delivering passes to their trio of potent attackers.
Secondary Threats
Hazard has had a strong season and terrorizes defenses with the best of them, but his conversion rate is perhaps not what it should be--something his coach recently reminded him of. While the rapid Aurier (injured) might have helped contain his ability to unlock PSG's defense, van der Wiel is also pacy but will need to log a strong performance against Chelsea's defense destabilizer.
Cavani has been playing a decent second fiddle ever since arriving, yet he is often criticized for underachieving because he scores so much less then he did at Napoli. He remains a threat who scored 29 goals three seasons ago, and will try to drag Ivanovic out wide to create space for Ibrahimovic or one of the midfield players to run into.
SUBPLOTS/INTANGIBLES
- PSG players David Luiz, Maxwell, Ibrahimovic have previously played for Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.
- On Saturday, after scoring a trademark 'impossible to defend' goal against Caen, Zlatan Ibrahimovic took off his shirt to reveal fifty temporary tattoos in an effort to garner publicity for a World Food Programme campaign called "805 Million Names"--alluding to the number of undernourished humans on the planet. Infamous for speaking in the 3rd person while saying controversial things (such as comparing himself to god), he now seems to be seeking a different kind of publicity. Information can be found here.
- PSG have not been beaten at home in the UEFA Champions League in thirty-two matches.