PSG put five past Chelsea in Champions League thriller
Holders Paris Saint-Germain took a giant step toward the Champions League quarter-finals after a devastating late surge saw them thrash Chelsea 5-2 in Wednesday’s first leg at the Parc des Princes.
The reigning European champions exploded into life in the final 20 minutes, scoring three times to transform a tense encounter into a commanding advantage ahead of next week’s second leg in London.
Vitinha punished a catastrophic error from Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jørgensen in the 74th minute, before substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added two late goals — the first a curling masterpiece; to complete the rout.
The tie, a repeat of last year’s Club World Cup final won by Chelsea, had ebbed and flowed dramatically. Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé twice gave PSG the lead, only for Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernández to drag the visitors level on each occasion.
The bold approach of Chelsea nearly paid dividends early, with Reece James causing problems, but defensive fragility ultimately undid them.João Neves and Barcola combined for the opener before Dembélé’s strike restored the advantage after Gusto’s equalizer.
But Jørgensen’s horrendous misjudgment proved decisive, allowing Vitinha to chip into an empty net. Kvaratskhelia then twisted the knife with two late finishes as PSG cruelly exposed Chelsea’s high line.
