Chelsea huddled once and, as if in an act of resistance, huddled again. They gathered once on either side of the centre circle before kick-off, apparently unconcerned by the kerfuffle that followed their weekend antics, and it was the biggest fight they put up on a night that underlined their distance from Europe’s elite.
Can anyone say, with hand on heart, that this project is going well? Any sense they could overturn a three-goal disadvantage was nipped in the bud by two quick Paris Saint-Germain goals and, by the time Senny Mayulu had added the third, there was little mistaking how some of the home fans felt about the early trajectory of Liam Rosenior’s tenure.
In fairness, Rosenior cannot call on players with the sheer presence and brio of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia or Bradley Barcola, whose interventions in the opening quarter of an hour killed the tie. He also cannot bargain for a litany of injuries and Trevoh Chalobah departing on a stretcher five minutes from the end compounded a bleak night. Rosenior has two months to make a success of the season but, on and off the pitch, Chelsea must project themselves far more strongly than this.
Even if the size of the deficit appeared daunting this was a chance for Chelsea to make their supporters feel something, anything. They have barely done so in the BlueCo era but could attempt to channel the muscle memory of a 3-0 win against the same opponents in the Club World Cup final. Perhaps Stamford Bridge, encouraging if not overly expectant at the outset, might also harness the spirit of the night almost 14 years ago to the day when Napoli were overhauled spectacularly en route to Champions League glory.
That optimism was obliterated almost as soon as Chelsea had completed their multiple pre-match conflabs. Kvaratskhelia’s finish was unerring but entirely avoidable for a home side whose start, while enthusiastic, had been palpably skittish. Marauding at one end, João Pedro ignored exhortations to shoot and instead conceded a clumsy free-kick. Matvei Safonov hit the set piece long and, with Kvaratskhelia in attendance, Mamadou Sarr’s attempt to trap the ball was painfully loose. It was whisked from him and dispatched past Robert Sánchez in an instant; victory would now require the most stirring night in Stamford Bridge’s recent history.
Instead, with the match barely 15 minutes old, the gulf was laid painfully bare. A Chelsea move went nowhere, Moisés Caicedo and Andrey Santos getting into a midfield muddle and allowing PSG to perform their knife-through-butter routine. Warren Zaïre-Emery cleaved into Chelsea territory before passing wide to Achraf Hakimi, whose layoff found Barcola to the right of the D. The finish, blasted past Sánchez with minimal backlift after taking a touch to set up the chance, was sensational. It was an exhibition in what respect for the ball really entails.
João Pedro, ever involved but glaringly loose, beat Safonov to a Cole Palmer cross shortly afterwards but missed the target. Little did it matter: there was nothing meaningful left in the contest, the home supporters silent as PSG passed and probed to a soundtrack of olés from the visiting contingent. Those were replaced by ironic cheers when Chelsea regained possession; then boos rang out as Barcola, making his chance slightly more difficult with a heavy touch, burst through and drove wide.
Rosenior, ring-bound notebook in hand, sought to cajole some tempo but most of his charges were shoegazing. João Pedro, at least, had some residual fight and bundled on to a long ball before Safonov deflected his angled attempt wide. Before half-time Palmer and Jorrel Hato forced the Russian keeper into one-handed saves, Barcola allowing Sánchez to block when one-on-one at the other end. Even if we were well into pre-season friendly territory, at least there were some notes for the Chelsea head coach to jot down.
The hapless Sarr, mystifyingly deployed out of position at right-back in lieu of the hamstrung Reece James, was replaced at half-time by Josh Acheampong. In the 55th minute João Pedro curled a yard wide after Marc Cucurella had gathered a poor Safonov clearance, any outlandish hopes Chelsea could rekindle some interest with an early second-half flurry fading with the opportunity.
Rosenior introduced Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho and Roméo Lavia but could look a few yards to his left, where Désiré Doué was being readied, to see what PSG had in store for any emergencies. Palmer, João Pedro and Enzo Fernández were the players replaced; this went down poorly among the home support although Delap, with his first touch, forced Safonov into a sharp save.
In the end PSG always had something more. They countered immediately down the left through Kvaratskhelia and, when the ball ran loose after an Andrey Santos challenge 16 yards out, their own half-time substitute, Mayulu, blasted a first-time strike past a motionless Sánchez with his left foot. The injury to Chalobah, who was clearly in pain, was more damaging still.
