Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was the
happier of both coaches following a 1-1
draw at Paris St-Germain in a Champions
League last-16 tie on Tuesday night.
Branislav Ivanovic placed Chelsea in the
lead before the interval at the Parc des
Princes but Edinson Cavani pulled back for
the French champions who, despite an
improved second half showing were left
ruing their inability to once again keep a
clean sheet before the return leg on 11
March.
“Overall the draw is a fair result but if you
take into account the number of chances
and saves by goalkeepers, they had more
than us, so if someone was closer to
winning, it was Paris,” the Portuguese boss
admitted in his post-game spin.
“This two-legged tie is now a one-legged
match. With this 1-1 draw, everything is
open.”
The setting for the blockbuster encounter
was that of revenge for the Parisians
following their away-goals shortcomings last
term having been eliminated from the
quarter-finals of the same competition by
the west London outfit.
Like ten months ago, it was again the Blues
who broke the deadlock, signaling an upset,
but a revitalised forward play in the second
half had Mourinho’s men hanging on a knife
edge.
And had Cavani got a little beat
clinical late on and Zlatan Ibrahimovic not
been denied by the impressive Thibault
Courtois, who pulled off about five terrific
saves to help retain hopes, at the tail end;
the bottom line could have been more
pronounced than it is now in reality.
Moreover, Mourinho was afforded every
reason to glance up the light at the end of
the tunnel, better still see beyond the
horizon.
“The first half was our half,” the 52-year-old
said. “They were playing deep, so we could
play the ball around and let the clock tick.
In the second half, they were much more
aggressive, managing to win the ball quickly.
“They’re a fantastic team with fantastic
players. They have a great front three- when
they make a chance, they are dangerous.
There’s really a lot of talent in that team.
“Now everything will be decided at Stamford
Bridge.”
Mourinho was quick to strike a balance in
the case of injured players denied a chance
to make the big games when their club
needed them most after PSG were without
five first-team players following a costly
draw with Caen on the domestic front last
weekend.
Mourinho added: “Sometimes people speak
about the players when they are injured and
do not play. There are injured players who
play, they don’t train to play.
“Often you know the injured players will not
play, but sometimes they surprise you.
(Eden) Hazard, Willian, Oscar, (Cesc)
Fabregas and Ivanovic hadn’t trained since
the Everton game. Yesterday they trained
for the media and to show they could play.
Cesc was sick in bed for three days and
couldn’t train but they all came back in and
gave everything.”