Chelsea have to turnaround a 2-1 deficit in their Champions League knockout second leg against PSG at Stamford Bridge. The Blues do have an away goal which should help them out but PSG are in great form themselves though they did have to deal with an unexpected loss to Lyon fairly recently.
Chelsea might have had one eye on this tie as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke City in their Premier League tie-in the weekend and the Blues will be looking to at least score twice to ensure they make it into the next round.
The Champions League and the FA Cup are the only realistic chances of Chelsea winning any silverware and winning the European competition could be the only way they could actually play in this competition again. PSG will be a tough team to beat and we look at three things Chelsea should do to beat the Paris club.
Deal with Zlatan
It isn’t that PSG do not have enough people for Chelsea to deal with but nullifying Zlatan should be their first game plan. The Swede is playing his last season, in all probability for PSG and he would like to end his time here with a Champions League medal.
As long as Chelsea can keep the Swedish striker quiet in the game, they have more than a chance of making it out of this round as long as they do not concede an away goal first.
Work on their defence
The Blues will be without the services of John Terry and Kurt Zouma, big misses from their side. This is just one reason why the team hasn’t done all that well in the past few games as Cahill is having to play with Cesar Azpilicueta during most matches.
Chelsea would need to ensure that they keep a tight back line, maybe playing Branislav Ivanovic as the central defender would be the way to keep PSG from scoring in the game. The defence could well decide who goes through to the next round and Chelsea have to be careful in this part of the game.
Get the first goal early
There will be nothing better to ease the nerves unless Chelsea get that first goal, the Blues did do that in the game against Stoke but they were pegged back late in the game. The Blues though know a two goal lead could be enough to send them through to the next round.
PSG will have a go as well and they know an away goal could and would all but seal their progress into the next round. Chelsea need to be careful, battering PSG at the start could be the smartest move up the arsenal for the Blues.