Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior blamed ‘a crazy 15 minutes’ after a catastrophic late collapse against Paris St-Germain left their European dream in tatters.
A 5-2 defeat at the Parc des Princes leaves the Blues staring down the barrel of a last-16 Champions League exit, but the manner of defeat will haunt Rosenior and his players.
Chelsea had battled back twice to level and appeared set to escape with a crucial draw when disaster struck in the 74th minute. Filip Jorgensen’s careless pass was intercepted by Bradley Barcola, who teed up substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to set up Vitinha for a chip over the stranded keeper.
What followed was a complete meltdown. Kvaratskhelia added two late goals while the night descended into chaos – Pedro Neto wrestled a ball boy to the ground in a struggle for the ball, and vice-captain Enzo Fernandez was seen furiously confronting Jorgensen after another error led to a disallowed goal.
The courageous performance that saw Malo Gusto and Fernandez cancel out strikes from Barcola and Ousmane Dembele was completely undone by a collapse in the final quarter of an hour.
“A very disappointing result on an evening where for much of the game we were really happy,” Rosenior said. “The last 15 minutes were crazy. That’s on me.
“We need to be better in moments when setbacks and mistakes happen. You need to stay calm in the moment, me included. It’s a painful one because for 75 minutes we were in the tie.”
Jorgensen’s Blunder: The Turning Point in Paris
Jorgensen has only recently displaced Robert Sanchez in goal but on a week littered with goalkeeping errors his was costly.
“Players make mistakes,” Rosenior insisted. “Filip is not the first to make a mistake. In that moment at 2-2 we’re in the ascendency. In the top level it’s fine margins. The fifth goal was the most painful one. We didn’t deal with a basic pattern of play, they scored a fifth and made the tie very difficult.”
Neto offered his shirt to the ball boy he’d knocked over, but the incident only added to a miserable evening for the Blues.
“If there was anything from our side that was wrong or out of order I apologise on behalf of the club,” said Rosenior.
Chelsea’s ambition in taking on the European champions backfired as their defensive naivety was ruthlessly exposed. They gave Dembele and Barcola far too much space, failed to compete for second balls, and were repeatedly carved open by PSG’s quick transitions.
“We’ve shot ourselves in the foot and made this tie very difficult,” Rosenior admitted. “Even at 4-2, it’s not the best result but we’re still right in this at Stamford Bridge. The fifth goal, that’s the painful one. It’s something I really have to solve. We are very close to being an outstanding team.”
PSG manager Luis Enrique acknowledged his side had been tested.
“It has been difficult but I think everybody supporting PSG was happy because the result is good. It was very tough because both teams were trying to play football,” he said. “This is the most important moment for us in this competition, we know it’s going to be tough away at Chelsea. I think we played well at a high level against a difficult side. I’m happy.”
The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals is:
Paris Saint-Germain or Chelsea v Galatasaray or Liverpool
Real Madrid or Manchester City v Atalanta or Bayern Munich
Newcastle or Barcelona v Atletico Madrid or Tottenham
Bodo/Glimt or Sporting CP v Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal
The draw for the Champions League semi-finals is:
Silver path: PSG/Chelsea/Galatasaray/Liverpool v Real Madrid/Manchester City/Atalanta/Bayern Munich
Blue path: Newcastle/Barcelona/Atlético Madrid/Tottenham v Bodo/Sporting CP/Bayer Leverkusen/Arsenal
