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Chelsea might have lost their first leg of the Champions League round-of-16 against Paris Saint-Germain last night, but their performance overall was surprisingly assuring given the circumstances around the match. One of the night's most notable players was John Obi Mikel, who had a hand in PSG's first goal, but also made sure to pay it back with a goal of his own for Chelsea by the end of the first-half.
Mikel said that he had to foul Lucas Moura in the lead-up to PSG's first goal, and that the team are disappointed in the defeat even though they came back strong after falling behind in the score.
"I had to fall in because Lucas [Moura] was going deeper and deeper into our 18-yard box. Then the free kick just skipped off my feet and went into the back of the net. But we came back strong as well, but we're very disappointed to have lost the game."
-John Obi Mikel; Source: BT Sport via Goal.com
Despite the loss - our first one under Guus Hiddink's guidance this season -, Chelsea still managed to get a goal of their own at Parc des Princes. Mikel is hoping that Chelsea can build up on the away goal advantage, and ultimately go through the next round of the Champions League.
"They had more possession and we know how good they are but we went out there to play and get a goal, and we did that. Now we have an away goal and hopefully we can capitalize on that at home."
"We want to play and keep doing what we've been doing. It's our first loss under the new manager but we're not out of the tie yet, we've still got the second leg to play and hopefully we can build on the goal we have. When we play at home we need to make sure we get a good result and go through."
-John Obi Mikel; Source: Chelsea FC
Our next match is yet another decisive cup tie, this time around against Manchester City for the FA Cup. Hopefully we will keep our spirits elevated, and move forth to perhaps have a good shot at getting two very unlikely accolades given how poorly this season has played out for us.