Game in Focus - Chelsea v Paris Saint-Germain- Champions League last 16

Last updated : 07 March 2016 By DSG

With the Champions League Quarter finalist list beginning to take shape, it is the last chance saloon for a lot of teams as their European foray hinges on their next 90 minutes

Chelsea find themselves facing an uphill battle to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg

While it is of course an incredibly difficult position that Chelsea have contrived, it is by no means an impossible circumstance for them.

Chelsea have been on a decent run of form since the departure of Jose Mourinho

In their last 10 Premier League games, Chelsea have won five and drawn five scoring 20 and conceding 10 as they have climbed the table up to 10th place with 40 points, 10 behind Manchester City in fourth and the last Champions League place

While many would have claimed they did foresee this Chelsea revival coming, it was not clear that it would be so abrupt

The demise of Mourinho was as surprising as it was quick as in the space of one summer, Chelsea went from Champions to chumps

So much was written about their demise that the subject does not need any more analysis, but suffice to say that Mourinho paid for his playerÂ’s poor form with his managerial life.

Fast forward three months and the landscape could not be different

The Blues have put distance between themselves and the apparent relegation battle they had found themselves on the edge of and, if an improbable amount of results go their way, then they might find themselves battling for a Champions League place

Guus Hiddink seems to have done the simple things well

First of all he got Diego Costa scoring again

The combative Spaniard was still at his physical best, but he seemed to be putting all his energy into frustrating defenders with his physicality as opposed to scoring goals

Hiddink has changed this though with Costa scoring six goals in his last 10 games in all competitions

He has also moved onto 11 goals for the season which is a good return considering his poor form throughout this campaign up until the turn of the year.

Hiddink has also been able to plug what is an uncharacteristically shaky Chelsea defence

The long term injury to Thibaut Courtois and the poor form of Branislav Ivanovic had rocked their defence while many claimed John Terry had lost his ability to play at the top level

However, Hiddink has again stabilised the defence allowing Ivanovic to come back in to form most likely due to the confidence and faith he placed in him through his selection as captain when Terry picked up an injury

The form of Ivanovic is vitally important to Chelsea as he is one of their most underrated players

While the likes of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Willian generally make the headlines, it is the performances of Ivanovic blunting a wingers attack or playing as an auxiliary centre back which make Chelsea so robust

When he lost form, Chelsea did too and they plummeted down the table.

Hiddink has also rectified the hole in midfield which was left by the poor performances of Nemanja Matic

This put more pressure on Cesc Fabregas who was caught out of position offensively as he was attempting to contribute defensively

This then severely stunted Chelsea as their best passer was not able to get into the right positions to influence play due to his increased defensive work load

Hiddink chose to resurrect the faltering career of John Obi Mikel as the defensive shield in place of Matic which gave Fabregas the cover to push further forward

While Mikel did seem out of his depth against PSG in the first leg by first giving away the foul for the free kick which led to the goal before deflecting the resulting strike past Courtois, it has given Matic the time to rediscover his form in the smaller games

This may have been a masterstroke from Hiddink as if Matic were to have played in the PSG game it may only have served to exacerbate his problems and bad form.

It seems then that what Hiddink has really added to Chelsea is stability

With the defence far more robust than it has been this season, it allows the offensive players to focus on their own work as opposed to constantly tracking back and finding themselves out of position due to a heightened work load

This concept of Chelsea being robust is perhaps the best way to beat PSG

The French side will look to dominate possession and Chelsea are a fantastic team without the ball

Previously drilled by Mourinho, the Blues know what it will take to beat PSG

Their will be wave after wave of attack and the defence will quite likely have to put in their best performance of the season while Hiddink will hope that the way he has dealt with Matic will summon a game winning performance from the Serb, akin to those which won Chelsea the title last season

If Chelsea can soak up PSGÂ’s pressure then they will trust their speed on the break through Willian and Hazard

The last team that visited Stamford Bridge needing goals was Porto and while they are not in the same class as PSG, it shows exactly what Chelsea are capable of as they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners in a game which could have been five or six nil.

Unlike Chelsea, the French champions have had a walk in the park this season

They currently sit top of the French Ligue 1 on 74 points, 23 clear of second place Monaco

PSG have lost just once in 29 games in the league, winning 23 times

While the scale of PSGÂ’s crushing campaign is goliath, it must be considered that the French league is not a particularly competitive league

Second place Monaco recently bowed out of the Europa league against Tottenham after a humbling 5-2 defeat across two leagues

More still, few teams have troubled PSG both due to the Champions star studded team but also because the 19 other teams are significantly weaker than PSG both in standard of player and financially

While it should not be ignored that PSG are a World class team, they are made to look unbeatable by an incredibly weak league

Away from the ease at which they have won the league, they do have one of the WorldÂ’s best players leading their attack

Zlatan Ibrahimovic really is one in seven billion

The Swede, both in skill and wit, is as sharp as ever scoring some of the most audacious goals ever recorded

In the Champions League in particular he has supplied a plethora of clever flicks and thunderous volleys which have left spectators in awe

Ibrahimovic has scored 23 goals in 21 Ligue 1 appearancs proving to be the driving force for the French Champions, helping them to 68 goals in 29 games.

Along with Ibrahimovic has been the form of Kevin Trapp in goal

After ousting Salvatore Sirigu as starting goalkeeper, Trapp has been in fine form helping PSGÂ’s defence to a miserly 15 goals conceded

He also made a superb save from Diego Costa in the first leg as the SpaniardÂ’s point blank header was pushed away from goal with the keeper seemingly beaten

Trapp will need to be in good form once again with the likes of Willian and the back in form Costa looking to book ChelseaÂ’s place in the next round.

Chelsea can take heart from their previous record against PSG though

Generally the team with the advantage from the first leg has failed to progress to the next stage

In the 2013/14 season PSG beat Chelsea 3-1 in France before a late Demba Ba striker sealed a 2-0 win for Chelsea

The next season, Chelsea left France with the advantage after a 1-1 draw but they were then eliminated after a 2-2 draw in London

This season PSG fly to England with the advantage and if the last two seasons are anything to go by then Chelsea can be quietly confident

Past results omitted, it could come down to the form of the centre backs

Thiago Silva and David Luiz will attempt to repel the likes of Costa, Willian, Hazard and Pedro while, if John Terry is still injured come Wednesday, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic will have to hold their own against Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Lucas.

This last 16 tie promises to be a dramatic one with neither side deeming elimination at this stage a success in Europe

PSG have been in good form all season and Chelsea seem to be peaking at the right time and if past matches are anything to go by then one of these sides is in for a late heart- breaking defeat that puts paid to their hopes of European glory for another year.

Final predicted score:

Chelsea 3

PSG 1

Source : DSG

Source: DSG