Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea has been drawn to face Paris Saint-Germain in the first knockout round of UEFA Champions League 2015-16 season. This will be the third consecutive meeting between the two sides at this same stage.
Chelsea will play the first leg away from home at Parc Des Princes in Paris on 16 or 17 February. While the second leg will be played at Stamford Bridge on 8 or 9th March 2016. This is the third straight season when both teams are meeting in the knockout stage. Back in the 2013-14 season, Chelsea lost away in Paris by 3-1 but stormed to 2-0 victory at home to knock out Paris Saint-Germain.
But last season, Chelsea drew 1-1 in Paris but failed to contain PSG from scoring in the second leg as Paris Saint Germany knocked out Chelsea in the 2014-15 season. This time around, however, Paris Saint Germain is in much better form and shape with the likes of Angel Di Maria, Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Lucas to name just a few top rated players for PSG while Chelsea are struggling big time so it all set up for a classic European double header.
So below here we discuss 3 strategies Chelsea must adopt if they are to overcome mighty PSG –
- Get the Double Pivot on Point
Chelsea found much success using the double pivot last season. The midfield partnership of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas proved integral to their title charge and managed to stifle almost all opponents. Matic helped protect the defence while Fabregas would get into advanced areas to support the attack. This season, however, it isn’t functioning properly, and that’s mainly down to Fabregas’ drop in form. Matic now has a much greater workload, which has also translated to a poor run for the Serbian. Perhaps Mourinho will have to keep Fabregas on the bench like he did against Porto, and use Ramires in his stead. The industrious Brazilian put in a great shift alongside Matic, seeing Chelsea through to the knockout round of the Champions League.
If Mourinho gets it right in midfield – defensively – it will go a long way in helping them hold PSG.