Chelsea player ratings vs PSG: Blues pay price for disastrous defensive display
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Chelsea suffered a 5-2 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain ahead of next week's second leg at Stamford Bridge.
The match was more open than many expected, and PSG's early lead clearly played a big part in it.
The hosts scored the opener just 10 minutes into the game through Bradley Barcola's strike from close range.
Chelsea reacted positively after conceding and put a lot of pressure on PSG's defence.
It paid off in the 28th minute when Enzo Fernandez caught PSG's defence off guard and found the unmarked Malo Gusto, who eventually put Chelsea level.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, PSG regained the lead through a counter-attacking chance.
After goalkeeper Matyev Safonov saved a Cole Palmer chance, Ousmano Dembele was free on the other end of the pitch and managed to beat Wesley Fofana and Filip Jorgensen to make it 2-1 for PSG five minutes before half-time.
Chelsea found another equaliser early in the second half. Pedro Neto showcased his pace on the left wing before putting it on a plate for Fernandez.
The match looked like it was heading for a draw before Jorgensen made a costly error with his pass.
PSG did not waste the opportunity, and, for the third time in the game, regained the lead through a beautiful chip from Vitinha.
It got worse for Chelsea.
Instead of another equaliser or at least heading into the second leg with a one-goal deficit, PSG doubled their lead, thanks to a moment of brilliance from Khvicha Kvaratskheli, who whipped the ball into the top corner of the goal.
The Georgia international later grabbed his brace in stoppage time, forcing Chelsea to return home with a three-goal deficit.
Here are the Chelsea player ratings vs PSG, according to SofaScore.
Starting XI
Filip Jorgensen: 4.5
Malo Gusto: 7.5
Wesley Fofana: 5.5
Trevoh Chalobah: 5.2
Marc Cucurella: 5.4
Reece James: 6.9
Moises Caicedo: 7.0
Cole Palmer: 6.2
Enzo Fernandez: 7.4
Pedro Neto: 6.3
Joao Pedro: 6.2
Substitutes
Romeo Lavia: 6.4
Liam Delap: 6.5
Alejandro Garnacho: N/A
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.