10-man PSG stun Chelsea, Bayern rout Shakhtar

Published March 13, 2015
LONDON: Paris St Germain’s Thiago Silva (L) scores with a header past Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois during their Champions League last-16 second-leg match at Stamford Bridge.—AP
LONDON: Paris St Germain’s Thiago Silva (L) scores with a header past Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois during their Champions League last-16 second-leg match at Stamford Bridge.—AP

PARIS: Ten-man Paris St Germain sensationally came from behind twice to dump Chelsea out of the Champions League on away goals after extra time Wednesday as Bayern Munich also qualified for the quarter-finals with a 7-0 rout of ten-man Shakhtar Donetsk.

Held 1-1 in their last 16 first-leg tie at Parc des Princes, Thiago Silva scored a sensational extra-time header as PSG overcame the sending-off of talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic to secure an electrifying 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge for a 3-3 aggregate scoreline to join holders Real Madrid, Bayern and Porto in the last eight.

And if anything, the French champions were even more tenacious with ten men from the 31st minute when Ibrahimovic was harshly dismissed for a challenge on Oscar.

“In years to come this game will really be seen as a turning point, a reference point with regards to this club’s recent history,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc, who is trying to deliver the club’s first European Cup.

Twice PSG came from behind. David Luiz — a Champions League winner with Chelsea in 2012 — sent the game into extra time with an emphatic 86th-minute header cancelling out Gary Cahill’s Chelsea opener on 81 minutes.

Silva appeared to have gifted Chelsea a place in the last eight after conceding a penalty for handball that Eden Hazard converted in the 95th, but the PSG captain scored with six minutes of the game remaining with a looping header, allowing PSG to avenge last season’s loss to Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

“The goal at the end was incredible,” Silva told beIN Sports. “For me, for this team, for the club.”

German champions Bayern also advanced in style in Munich to keep their bid for a sixth elite European title on track.

After a goalless first leg it was expected to be a close game but it turned into a stroll for Bayern thanks to the third-minute dismissal of Oleksandr Kucher — the fastest red card in the competition’s history.

Thomas Mueller stepped up and made no mistake with a well-hit penalty on his way to notching two goals, while Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery, Holger Badstuber, Robert Lewandowski and Mario Goetze added one apiece as Bayern matched their biggest home win.

“I always had faith with my players and I am very happy with their game tonight,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, whose team equalled their 7-0 win over Basel in 2012, told reporters. “People said it may be a tricky game but my players are there for the big moments.”

Tuesday saw Real and FC Porto book their place in the quarters at the expense of Schalke 04 and FC Basel.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2015

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