P.S.G. Handle Slumping Chelsea in UCL

 3-1 

Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain faced off today in a Champions League match in the French capital.  P.S.G. are well in control of Ligue 1 while Chelsea are in trouble of letting the Premier League slip away.  Over the weekend Chelsea were stunned by Crystal Palace and today they looked to get past that embarrassing defeat with a win in the first-leg of the UCL quarter-final.

P.S.G. took the lead in the early moments of the match when Chelsea captain John Terry made a poor clearance off the line.  Terry headed the ball short and it fell right to Lavezzi inside the box.  In one motion Lavezzi brought the ball down with a chest-trap before finishing with a volley (3').

Chelsea were able to respond when P.S.G. captain Thiago Silva missed his slide-tackle inside the box.  Oscar drew the foul to earn a penalty and Eden Hazard scored from the spot (27' P).  Up to that point in the match the referee had been, to put it nicely, inconsistent.  Though on this occasion the call was correct and the first-half ended on level terms.

Chelsea's starting striker Schürrle was not having any impact on the game and in the second-half he was removed for the more prototypical center-forward Torres.  However, before he had a chance to influence the match Chelsea conceded an own-goal.  A free-kick for P.S.G. near the corner flag was sent into the box by Lavezzi and David Luiz turned the ball into his own net to put Chelsea behind again (61').

After retaking the lead P.S.G. were able to take control for the rest of the match.  Not everything went their way though as a pair of injuries to key players forced changes to the side.  First Ibrahimovic pulled up holding the back of his thigh indicating a probable hamstring injury.  He went straight to the locker room after coming off the field which is a bad indication for the seriousness of the injury.  Later Marco Verratti came off after a collision in midfield, but he was able to watch the rest of the match from the bench.

In the final moments of the match P.S.G. were able to add another goal from their final substitute Javier Pastore.  Making a run along the Chelsea end-line, Pastore manage to dribble around Azpilicueta and Lampard to work a shot from a tight angle, beating keeper Cech at the near-post (90 +3').

The deficit is not insurmountable for Chelsea who will have a chance to redeem themselves next week at Stamford Bridge.  Chelsea did manage to score an important away goal which could prove to be their life-line in the second-leg.  Also in their favor is the possible absence of Ibrahimovic who may not be able to play when the two meet again.

Late Winner From Torres Downs Manchester City

 2-1 

This weekend's marque Premier League matchup was between Manchester City playing at Chelsea.  Three points separated the two clubs with Chelsea ahead of Man. City before today's game.  Both clubs came out with a lot of intensity and three yellow cards were issued in the first-half alone.

Chelsea were first on the scoreboard after Torres setup Andre Schürrle.  Torres was able to beat defender Clichy to the endline and play the ball across the face of goal.  Schürrle was crashing the net and finished with an easy tap-in for the only goal of the first-half (33').

Manchester City's Sergio Agüero was very active throughout the match and scored the equalizer in the opening minutes of the second-half.  Samir Nasri played the through-ball to put Agüero behind the Chelsea defense and the striker ripped the shot inside the near-post (49').

Around the hour mark, both teams began using their substitutions and after the numerous changes the pace of the game noticeably declined.  A one-one draw looked to be the inevitable conclusion, but Chelsea caught a break and capitalized on a costly mistake.

A long ball from midfield was misplayed by defender Nastasić to give Torres a scoring opportunity.  Nastasić was looking to head the ball back to his keeper, but he did not notice that keeper Hart had come off his line to collect the ball.  With the errant back-pass heading towards goal and the keeper way out of position, Torres had an easy finish on the winning goal (90').

Chelsea are now in second place in the league table, tied with Liverpool and two points behind Arsenal at the top.  Arsenal and Chelsea meet this week for a Capital One Cup match and Manchester City play Newcastle in the same tournament.

Aston Villa Own-Goal the Difference for Chelsea

2-1

Playing the midweek match at Stamford Bridge, Aston Villa caught a bad break early in the match, conceding an own-goal.  Chelsea's Hazard fired a shot from the left side that keeper Guzan had covered.  Guzan parried the shot away from his goal, but right at his teammate Luna who inadvertently sent the ball back into his own net (6').

Chelsea were well in control for the first-half with 70% of possession while holding Aston Villa to only one shot.  On top of that Aston Villa had to make a change to their back line when Clark received a gash on his forehead that required stitches.  However in the first-half stoppage time, Villa finally managed to get a shot on target.  Winger Agbonlahor made a strong run up the left side that forced Cahill out wide to defend.  With Cahill out of place Agbonlahor picked out Benteke in the box who found just enough space to slip his shot inside the near-post (45 +3').

Chelsea continued to maintain about 70% of possession in the second-half, and retook the lead from a set-piece.  Lampard delivered the free-kick into the box that landed perfectly for Ivanovic right in front of goal.  Ivanovic finished with a clean header, struck down to give the keeper no chance (73').

Aston Villa had a couple good chances to score themselves in the second-half, but twice Weimann was denied by keeper Cech who made two great saves.

Though the season just started Chelsea are off to a perfect start under manager José Mourinho.  Next will be a big test for Chelsea as they travel to Old Trafford to take on the defending league champions Manchester United.