Paris Saint-Germain produced a devastating late surge to defeat Chelsea 5-2 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.
The defending champions broke the game open in the final 20 minutes after a pulsating contest that had been level twice.
Midfielder Vitinha restored PSG’s lead in the 74th minute after capitalising on a costly mistake by Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jørgensen.
Substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then put the result beyond doubt, scoring twice late on, including a stunning curling effort, to give the Parisians a commanding advantage ahead of next week’s return leg in London.
Earlier in the match, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé had each given PSG the lead, but Chelsea responded both times through Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernández.
The decisive moment arrived when Jørgensen attempted a pass out from the back, only for Barcola to intercept easily. Kvaratskhelia quickly squared the ball to Vitinha, who calmly chipped the stranded goalkeeper to make it 3-2.
Moments later, Kvaratskhelia produced a brilliant curling strike for PSG’s fourth before sealing the emphatic victory with a simple finish in stoppage time.
Chelsea had started the match positively, pushing forward with an aggressive high line and looking to take the game to the European champions.
They nearly opened the scoring early on when Reece James delivered a low cross, but João Pedro failed to connect properly.
PSG eventually made their pressure count when Dembélé found space on the right and delivered a cross that João Neves nodded down for Barcola, who controlled with his chest before smashing a powerful shot in off the crossbar.
Chelsea responded well as Fernández switched play cleverly to Gusto, who found himself unmarked in the box and drilled home despite goalkeeper Matvei Safonov getting a touch.
The game continued at a frantic pace. After Cole Palmer missed a clear chance for Chelsea, PSG quickly countered, with Dembélé racing forward and beating Wesley Fofana before firing a low finish into the corner.
Chelsea drew level again when Pedro Neto burst past Marquinhos and cut the ball back for Fernández, who blasted a superb strike into the top corner.
However, PSG’s late onslaught ultimately left Chelsea with a mountain to climb ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge next week.
