PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: CHELSEA V PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 08-04-2014 Less than a week after the first-leg meeting between these two capital-city clubs, the deciding rematch is here. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton look at Anglo-French fortunes… TALKING POINTS When Handel is played moments before kick-off tonight it will not be smog hovering over that part of west London, but belief. I believe, and my players believe, said Jose Mourinho yesterday. That is the most important thing. With a minimum of two goals required, the odds are stacked against the Chelsea Pensioner overcoming this latest European threat, but the decisive match happening at fortress Stamford Bridge always felt significant and so it may prove. The Blues have not conceded a single goal over the last eight games at the Bridge in all competitions. In fact, five of our last six scorelines at home would place the Londoners in the bowl for Fridays Champions League semi-finals draw. After warming up against Stoke on Saturday evening, Chelsea fans will make this one of the great, heady European nights. And how we have enjoyed those over the years, from the crisp, breakneck counter-attacking that overcame Bruges in 1971 to the vengeful beast that crushed Napoli in 2012. Accordingly, any player or supporter who does not believe Chelsea can do it was cordially commanded Mourinho to absent themselves from Tuesdays proceedings and watch Dortmund-Real on TV instead. Experience is vital in these games and Chelsea have the advantage in that respect.This is only the second last-eight appearance for PSG coach Laurent Blanc; Mourinho has so far lost none of his many Champions League quarter-final ties and won this title twice. Unlike PSG, the Blues squad is full of veterans of these situations who have often carried out orders and achieved the required result; some have not and will need inducting into the Chelsea way. Two PSG players can pre-warn their teammates what to expect - Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani were two of Napolis three tenors stunned into silence two years ago. Between them the pair had scored the first leg goals they must have thought would secure progress. It was not to be. Instead Didier Drogba on 28 minutes, then John Terry , 48, and Frank Lampard with a 75 th -minute penalty, along with Inlers goal, took the tie to extra time. Branislav Ivanovic memorably slammed in a shot ten minutes from the end to seal an extraordinary victory. KEY STAT PSG have never won on English soil in European competition. They have drawn two and lost two. Chelsea have lost a European first leg away and recovered to make the next round on 10 out of 15 occasions. We have also progressed on two of the six occasions we were trailing by two goals from the opening encounter. 1965/66 Fairs Cup semi-final Barcelona A 0-2 H 2-0 A 0-5 (play off) 1970/71 Cup Winners Cup quarter final Club Brugge A 0-2 H 4-0 aet 1994/95 Cup Winners Cup semi final Real Zaragoza A 0-3 H 3-1 2001/02 UEFA Cup second round Hapoel Tel-Aviv A 0-2 H 1-1 2003/04 Champions League semi-final Monaco A 1-3 H 2-2 2011/12 Champions League round of 16 Napoli A 1-3 H 4-1 aet Coach Laurent Blancs only previous managerial experience at the Bridge will not fill him with confidence. He saw his Bordeaux side, featuring Yoann Gourcuff, Yoan Gouffran and Marouane Chamakh, spanked 4-0 in September 2008, Frank Lampard opening the scoring inside the opening quarter of an hour. Oddly, before arguably the biggest match of their season, PSGs home game with Reims was not held on a Friday, but Saturday evening. The scheduling removed the advantage they enjoyed up to now ahead of Champions League games. Edinson Cavani, likely to replace the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic as centre-forward, started in a 3-0 win against a lack-lustre Reims side whose young defender Aissa Mandi generously contributed two own goals. Stamford Bridge welcomes home old boys Alex and assistant coach Claude Makelele. Sadly absent from the PSG entourage this evening will be our former Head of Sports Science, Nick Broad, who died following a car crash in Paris in January 2013. Nick was with Chelsea for six years including during Carlo Ancelottis highly successful spell here and went with the Italian to the Parisien club. If the score tonight after 90 minutes is 3-1 to Chelsea then extra time will be played and if necessary penalties. The away goals rule applies so any other score will result in the game ending after normal time.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 06:19:57 +0000
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