In the Champions League 2015-16 Round of 16, French capital team Paris St-Germains were drawn against British Chelsea. PSG is having a good season, with a clear lead in Ligue 1, while Chelsea is struggling in Premier League. Before the first match of the playoffs, which were played in Paris, PSG had some internal fuzz going on, when Serge Aurier decided to insult his team mates in social media. The question was how this would affect tonight’s game?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the first goal
The phase of the game increased as time passed in the first half. Paris SG had the most of the ball possession while Chelsea created some dangers in the offensive penalty area. German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp made a remarkable save worth a Youtube-video, on a header from Chelsea’s Diego Costa. Instead, it was PSG who could score the first goal, through Swedish star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic scored on a free kick. The wall bounced on a defender and surprised Thibaut Courtois in the goal. The Swedish commentaries made two interesting questions afterwards: why do the defenders in the wall move, when their mission is to stand still and block the shot, and why do they goalkeeper throw himself in one direction when he knows there is a chance the ball might hit something on the way and change direction?
PSG’s one goal advantage did not last though. John Obi Mikel could score the equalized when the clock showed 45+1. A psychological and important goal for Chelsea. 1-1 before the second half. A result we all recognize from the double meetings between the team from the last years Champions League playoffs.
However, Edinson Cavani had other plans than letting history repeat itself. With about 15 minutes remaining of the match, he distinctively shot 2-1 for Paris SG which also became the end result. A very important goal before the return meeting on Stamford Bridge, Wednesday, March 9.
Other results from the Champions League 2016 Round of 16
Benfica 1-0 Zenit St. Petersburg
AA Gent 2-3 Wolfsburg
Roma 0-2 Real Madrid
Dynamo Kiev 1-3 Manchester City
Arsenal 0-2 Barcelona
Juventus 2-2 Bayern Munich
