So the English and the French go into battle once more. Last year it was the UEFA Champions League Quarter finals when after losing 3-1 in the away leg, (remember David Luiz’s 1st goal for his prospective new team?) Chelsea FC overturned that deficit by winning 2-0 and going through on away goals.
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This time it’s the 2nd leg of the final 16 round of the UEFA Champions League at Stamford Bridge between the Champions elect of the Premier League, Chelsea FC against the Champions elect of Ligue 1.
"Honours are just about even after the 1st leg, a 1-1 draw on 17th February 2015 at Le Parc des Princes, Paris."
I say (and Jose Mourinho agrees with me) that honours are even because Chelsea FC scored a precious away goal again but were made to hang on by a rampant PSG side in the 2nd half, so much so that Thibaut Courtois was named Man of the Match.
Paris St. Germain:
Paris St. Germain are currently 2nd in their domestic league, Ligue 1, in the semi final of their domestic cup and the final of the French League Cup, and also won their last game 4-1 against Lens as comfortably as the score line suggests. A domestic treble therefore awaits a very strong team in what is widely recognised as a weak league.
All of this is understandable and expected by a team owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and with “secondary” sponsorship deals of 200 million Euros a year from the Qatar Tourism Authority, domestic domination is actually demanded by its owners as a bare minimum!
Whilst all this money means they can pay any Financial Fair Play fines with loose change whilst still paying top prices for any player who wants top dollar, it also brings pressure on its manager Laurent Blanc to demand the holy grail of European football, the Champions League.
The owners can and will pay for the best, but are the best players prepared to play in a mediocre league week in week out in return for a huge pay check? And if Laurent Blanc can’t get the very best players then how can he win the Champions League?
By Football.ua , via Wikimedia Commons
So this is the situation Laurent Blanc finds himself in facing Chelsea for the 2nd time in 2 years;
Lose and he will in all probability be sacked at the end of the season as Carlo Ancelotti was after only reaching the quarter finals in 2013.
Win, and it was expected and he’ll have to do it all again in the quarter finals against someone else. Talk about hanging on by a thread!
Laurent Blanc has a star studded team available for this crunch match, Zlatan Ibrahimovic being the self appointed star of the show, with an all star support cast including ex-Champions League winner, David Luiz and of course Edinson Cavani, the scorer of the equaliser in the 1st leg.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was missing in the return leg last year, a factor that Laurent Blanc is playing on quite heavily in the build up, and there’s no denying the Swedish International is a formidable opponent when in the mood, but he also tends to go missing for long periods and can be man marked out of a game, something Jose Mourinho will no doubt have worked on in training!
David Luiz, the “Geezer”, the joker in the pack that Jose Mourinho deemed surplus to requirements at Chelsea FC and sold for 50 million pounds to PSG. Not a bad bit of business for someone that Jose considered a bench warmer due to his defensive lapses in concentration! It would appear the jovial Brazilian doesn’t share the love for Jose Mourinho as much as the Chelsea FC faithful do when, as reported by The Daily Mail, he said ‘He (Mourinho) is special for you, but not for me”
Edinson Cavani has been prolific in the Champions League this season scoring 6 in 7 appearances so far including 1 in the 1st leg, but less so in Ligue 1, only scoring 8 in 24 appearances, making him a definite threat in the big games.
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Chelsea FC:
Chelsea FC are sitting comfortably at the top of the Premier League with a 5 point lead and a 1 game in hand cushion, and have just won the 1st available trophy of the season, the Capital One Cup with a straight forward victory at Wembley over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur FC. The only blot on a hugely successful season so far was the unexplainable freakish blip against Bradford City in the F.A Cup.
Unlike our nouvelle riche opponents this week Chelsea FC are now fully compliant following some very shrewd business in the transfer market over the last 2 years (David Luiz being a prime example), indeed Chelsea FC may even be considered paupers nowadays in comparison, I prefer to be called a properly run club with a wealthy owner!
Whilst Laurent Blanc may well be in a precarious position as manager, Jose Mourinho is in new territory at a club where in the past, managers were only ever considered as temporary. He is secure in a club where he is loved and respected by all, including the owner this time round!
"After some very shrewd transfer business dealings Chelsea FC have players in all positions that are at least equal if not better than their opponents this week."
PSG have Ibrahimovic, the egotistical eccentric who plays for himself, Chelsea FC have Diego Costa, the warrior who works for the team.
PSG have David Luiz, a master of mistakes, Chelsea FC have John Terry, a legend amongst leaders.
PSG have Edinson Cavani, a collector of pay checks, Chelsea FC have Eden Hazard, the wing wizard.
In addition to the key stars mentioned above there is another very important factor to be considered here, PSG had to play a league match on Sunday (albeit being a comfortable victory against relegation threatened Lens) whereas Chelsea FC have had a 7 day break since their last match against West Ham Utd. including the luxury of 2 days off for the players, and this could well be a deciding factor if the game is tight heading into the last 10 minutes.
All things considered I believe that Chelsea FC will progress to the quarter finals after a hard fought, often “backs to the wall” typical European match, and I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. After all that is the “Old School Chelsea Way”.
Photos by @cfcunoffical. On Twitter and at CFCUnofficial.com