Thiago Silva scored a sensational extra-time header as 10-man Paris Saint-Germain knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League after an electrifying 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
PSG had talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off in the first half and fell behind to a Gary Cahill goal with nine minutes remaining, only for Chelsea old boy David Luiz to take the tie to extra time with an emphatic 86th-minute header.
Silva appeared to have gifted Chelsea a place in the last eight after conceding a penalty for handball that Eden Hazard converted, but the PSG captain scored with six minutes of the game remaining to send Laurent Blanc’s side through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate draw.
The irony of the scoreline will not have been lost on PSG, who were eliminated by Chelsea on away goals in last season’s quarter-finals after another 3-3 draw, but their breakthrough victory was richly deserved after a mature and resolute display on a tense and fractious night.
The French champions’ dreams of an unprecedented quadruple remain intact, while Jose Mourinho will have to wait at least another season for an opportunity to win the Champions League with his beloved Chelsea.
It was a game almost totally devoid of incident until a moment of controversy in the 32nd minute that thrust referee Bjorn Kuipers beneath the spotlight beams.
After a PSG move broke down, Ibrahimovic showed a shade too much eagerness to regain possession by sliding in on Oscar, but although he caught the Brazilian on the ankle, both players were equally committed to the challenge and the red card that followed felt excessive.
PSG were, understandably, rattled, with Thiago Motta booked for dissent, and Chelsea threatened to capitalise, with Diego Costa denied a penalty despite clearly being caught on the lower leg by Edinson Cavani.
But PSG kept their shape well and shortly before the hour they came within inches of going ahead.
A brisk move down the centre of the pitch involving Marco Verratti and Javier Pastore saw the latter release Cavani, who neatly skirted Thibaut Courtois, only to hit the left-hand post from an angle with the goal at his mercy.
PSG continued to press, Cahill blocking from Blaise Matuidi and Courtois saving from Pastore, and with the tie on a knife-edge, tempers began to fray.
Tim
Guest
Red card was a disgrace. Should have been either yellow for BOTH players or none at all. Very deserved win by PSG.
Woodo
Guest
Not exactly unprecedented, it happened 2 years ago. This shift in power has been happening for a few years now, should make the next few seasons very interesting.
nickoldschool
Guest
Probably one the best Paris I have seen at this level if the comp in a long time. Still not as good as the one of the early 90s with valdo, rai, weah and ginola though. Bayern and real fans may still remember what psg was 20 years before the Qatari take over. Hope they win the whole thing this year, overdue.
Uncle Junior
Guest
What a terrific match: heroes, villains, drama, controversy, nail-biting finish. Yesterday's match was also a beauty. And it was all on free-to-air tv. So good to see EPL teams being eliminated from the European competitions. It exposes those casual fans in Australia who think they know everything about football because they started following a successful EPL team to fit in when they were in England on holidays and return to Australia boasting: I only watch EPL because it's the best in the world (whilst following local sporting codes where the standard is basically the best blokes from suburban Australia.)
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
On a far bigger note, in 2.5 hours the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers begin, Cambodia v Macau. Truly a match for the connoisseur.
Bondy
With the financially injection to PSG and Man Cty the bigger more established English Clubs have suffered The Man U's, Arsenal's and Chelsea's cant sustain the quality of player they use to , subsequently their results are quite poor all English Clubs could be knocked out in the Rd of 16 phase ,unprecedented .. PSG always looked in with a show today even with Ibra off the park, couple of cracking headers ,boom.
nordster
Guest
Excellent game....to think the ref had the hide to red card Ibra, outraegous :) Unacceptable under any circumstances let alone for what was not even a tackle....!!!
AZ_RBB
Guest
Two absolutely world class headers. Sanogo and Balotelli both have more UCL goals this season than Costa hah :D
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
I turned onto the game at around the 60 minute mark and PSG were dominating. It wasn't until another 15 minutes or so later that I realised they were playing with a man down! Scrappy match but certainly worth watching.
Bfc
Guest
Karma indeed...Mourinho set Chelski up to play cynically once again, but a determined PSG showed their quality to overcome the numerical disadvantage. A win for the team trying to play football? It is rare to see Mourinho 'outcoached' but perhaps he was just a bit too negative...Chelski should have applied more pressure once PSG lost Ibra. Spent too much time 'playing the ref'.. Costa very fortunate in more than one instance, great to see Thiago recover from his error to score the 'winner', and also nice to see Luiz show his ability on the big stage. Ref had an ordinary game.
TheVolley
Guest
Its hard to feel sorry for Mourinho's teams esp. after what some of their fans did in Paris subway. Morinho somehow gets his teams to behave in questionable ways. He set the tone when he claimed before the match that PSG were aggressive. His players followed up by milking a red card backfired big time.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Great win PSG, the red card was ridiculous which Chelsea totally milked, players excessive carry on etc... They were unlucky not get a penalty when Costa went down. That said to win with 10 men away is epic and plenty will say Karma. Maureen was surprisingly gracious in the post game presser.