Chelsea ripped apart as French media go in on ‘abysmal gulf’ | Football | Sport
The match swiftly became a foregone conclusion after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola fired the French champions 2-0 in front within the opening 15 minutes. Liam Rosenior’s team struggled to establish any rhythm as Chelsea found themselves trailing by five goals overall. The night worsened in the second-half when Senny Mayulu completed the scoring for the defending European champions shortly after the hour mark. Meanwhile, Trevoh Chalobah required a stretcher after the Blues had exhausted all available substitutions, ending the game with 10 men. The outcome continued PSG’s recent run of dispatching Premier League opposition in the Champions League knockout stages, having eliminated Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal last season. Here is the French media’s assessment of Chelsea’s display.
Eurosport
PSG’s triumph was described as “a stroll in the park” for Luis Enrique’s team, who “cemented their dominance over Chelsea“. The outcome was viewed as the French outfit avenging the “anomaly” of their Club World Cup defeat last summer.
Chelsea were “completely outclassed” by their rivals, with the home team “utterly helpless against a fully committed PSG side”. The Eurosport match report characterised PSG’s performance as “simply perfect”.
Eurosport further noted that Chelsea’s players were “unable to find a convincing speech” to spark a comeback. The scoreline was said to underscore “the abysmal gulf in quality between the two clubs”.
France 24
While the French publication praised PSG’s performance, France 24’s match report concluded that “Chelsea looked a long way short of the level required in Europe’s elite club competition”. Having conceded three late goals to lose the first leg 5-2, the report suggested that “Liam Rosenior’s team never really appeared to believe” that a comeback was feasible.
France 24 commended Kvratskhelia for overpowering Chelsea defender Mamadou Sarr for the opening goal. When Barcola doubled PSG’s lead, “home fans began flooding for the exits”. It was summed up as a “miserable evening for Chelsea”.
L’Equipe
L’Equipe delivered a dismal verdict of Chelsea’s display, portraying PSG as “extinguishing the light and hope in its opponent”. The early goals were said to have returned Stamford Bridge “to silence and resignation”.
The French publication contended that there was “little point in analysing the match over its entirety: it lasted a quarter of an hour”. However, Enrique’s team was lauded for stunning Chelsea and being “utterly ruthless” from the outset.
Reflecting on the club’s performance since netting three late goals in the first leg, L’Equipe commented that “PSG calmly inflicted a 6-0 thrashing on their somewhat cheeky nemesis”. Regarding Chelsea, the report said that the Blues “only really showed up when it was too late and it no longer made much sense”.
