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PSG 1 - Chelsea 1: Initial reaction and community rating form

First leg away ties in Europe are always thrilling affairs, aren't they? Jose Mourinho clearly set up with a 'safety first' mentality on Tuesday, and after Branislav Ivanovic headed home a vital away goal, the Blues looked to take the air out of the ball quicker than Tom Brady could say 'deflate'.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, the great work done by the defense in the opener was undone when Edinson Cavani was left totally unmarked in the box, and PSG managed to level the score very early in the second half. That was it for the goal scoring, and Chelsea take this tie back to Stamford Bridge with a very good result in the books.

Thoughts:

  • I really like the idea behind the recent rotation we're seeing at center back. Our best defender plays against everyone, Gary Cahill partners him against forwards who aren't a real threat to get in behind, while Kurt Zouma gets a run against forwards who are threats to run away from the more experienced pair. I just wish Cahill would start justifying a spot in the rotation with some better defensive work.
  • I'm not sure there's a more overrated player in Europe at the moment than Marco Verratti. Mourinho obviously had the club looking to force mistakes every time he touched the ball today, and looked to be targeting him whenever PSG weren't in possession as well. I seem to recall taking that approach last year too.
  • Did anyone else laugh when David Luiz lost Ivanovic on the opening goal? I did. Teehee...
  • Listening to Tony Gale call matches makes my ears bleed.
  • Tonight's referee was awful. He totally lost control of the game when he refused to produce yellows, though at least it probably had no effect on the eventual outcome for either side.
  • I think most of us would have gladly taken a draw and an away goal back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg. I'm certainly happy with it, and Laurent Blanc will now have to take chances in a hostile environment,opening the door to Chelsea's counter attack.
  • It's back to the Premier League grind now, where hopefully we can all but end the title race before we face PSG again.

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