Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea, 2014 UEFA Champions League: Pastore scores massive goal

As Chelsea went into Wednesday’s game against Paris Saint-Germain, there was a certain expectation from José Mourinho, one backed up by much of the English press: the match might be tricky because PSG possessed players who can win games out of nothing, and that made them dangerous. The absence of any further discussion implied that PSG had a flimsiness to them, that they lacked the robustness of the likes of Bayern Munich, or Juventus, or even Real Madrid. They would be, in effect, similar to the Madrid of old, back before Mourinho injected pragmatism into the side. But that assumption was a long, long way from the truth.

Obviously, the Parisians’ raw quality was not in doubt, but they were nevertheless thoroughly underestimated in England. Ligue 1 does not possess the popularity of any of Europe’s big four leagues, and to the English watcher PSG were by far the least familiar of the quarter-finalists. That’s despite possessing household names like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, on top of other well-known talents like Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Silva and Marco Verratti.

Tom Williams passed along the info, in English. Here is the original tweet from Le Parisien.

Edinson Cavani will likely move into the starting center forward role in Ibrahimovic’s absence, though he was poor throughout Wednesday’s game. PSG will be counting on him to put together a complete performance in London next week.

Chelsea thought they were headed to Stamford Bridge in good shape, with a nice result. They were losing going into stoppage time, but they were only down one goal, and had an away goal too. Zlatan Ibrahimovic left injured and will face a serious fight to make the second leg. It was going well ... and then ‘El Flaco’ happened.

Javier Pastore, the stage is yours.

A fantastic late goal from Javier Pastore left Chelsea’s hopes of making it to the Champions League semi-finals looking bleak as Paris Saint-Germain gained a deserved 3-1 victory in the first leg of their tie.

Ezequiel Lavezzi shocked Chelsea from the start by firing PSG into an early lead, before Eden Hazard tucked away a penalty after a foul by Thiago Silva just afterwards. Yet PSG improved after the break, and retook the lead through a David Luiz own goal from a Lavezzi free-kick. A 2-1 victory looked on the cards until Pastore scored a magnificent goal deep in injury-time to stun the visitors.

Luiz’s biggest mistake in the sequence came with the foul. He needlessly took down Blaise Matuidi when the PSG player was nearing the corner flag and in no way a threat.

The foul allowed Ezequiel Lavezzi to get his chance on a free kick and that’s when things turned sour for Chelsea.

Paris Saint-Germain have suffered a huge blow in their Champions League tie against Chelsea, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic picking up an injury in the second half. He pulled up during a run in the 66th minute, appeared to grab his right hamstring, and was forced to come off. After talking with manager Laurent Blanc, he decided to leave the match. Lucas Moura replaced him, and Ibrahimovic walked directly down the tunnel.

While Ibrahimovic has been PSG’s best player since they bought him, they’re lucky in that they have a ready-made replacement. Edinson Cavani has been playing out of position to accommodate Ibrahimovic all season and will likely play in his natural position -- as a center forward -- as long as Ibrahimovic is gone.

There is some question as to whether the referee got the call right, but it appears as if Silva never gets to the ball and clearly takes Oscar out, making it a penalty. Regardless, it is a silly challenge by Silva, going in on that kind of tackle in the box when Oscar isn’t in an incredible dangerous position. That one of the world’s best defenders would make such a stupid play is dumbfounding.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t all Lavezzi. John Terry’s horrendous header helped out, but having to chest it down and then put it on goal with the ball behind you isn’t nearly as easy as Lavezzi made it look.

Now Chelsea find themselves a goal down without a single recognized striker. Andre Schurrle is playing striker for them today, making a comeback awfully difficult, but if they can sort out the defense, they would probably be pleased with just a 1-0 deficit going back to London for the second leg.

Paris Saint-Germain lineup (4-3-3): Salvatore Sirigu; Christophe Jallet, Alex, Thiago Silva, Maxwell; Marco Verratti, Thiago Motta, Blaise Matuidi; Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi

Kickoff is at 7:45 p.m. local time, 2:45 p.m. ET from Parc des Princes. You can catch the game on FOX Sports 1 in the U.S., Sky Sports 1 in the U.K. and Sportsnet World in Canada.

When the Champions League draw was made, this tie between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain was almost universally declared to be the most evenly matched and interesting for neutrals of the four. PSG appear to have made the leap up into the European elite this season, but they also haven’t played any teams as good as Chelsea. This match should serve as an excellent litmus test to see how good PSG really are.

While Jose Mourinho has loosened things up in recent years, more willing to attack away from home than he used to be, he should pack it in a bit on Wednesday. And it’ll be great to see what Zlatan Ibrahimovic can do against a well-organized side that’s defending deep in their own half.

Yes, Nike might have overdone it with their “Dare to Zlatan” campaign, but their over the top advertising doesn’t take away from the fact that Ibrahimović is not only one of the best strikers in football, but one of the most exciting personalities in the game as well. You might be sick of being told to “Dare to Zlatan”, but it’s the perfect slogan for Ibra, selling both his athletic prowess and his larger-than-life personality. Dare to try a thirty-yard bicycle kick. Dare to score with a scorpion flick. Dare to saunter through the penalty box, confident you’ll be in just the right place to head in a teammate’s cross. Dare, even, to refer to yourself in the third person.

And for many, his ego simply does not match up to his ability. With Ibrahimović‘s offhand, almost lazy playing style, he’s an easy target for critics. And so, despite his vast array of trophies and staggering collection of amazing goals, there’s a widespread belief that Zlatan doesn’t show up in big games