PSG Stun Chelsea in UCL Knockout Stage

        The second leg of Champion's League Round of 16 fixture between Chelsea and PSG was set to kickoff Wednesday, March 11, at 3:45 EST at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home field. The final score after the game was 2-2, 3-3 on aggregate, and it was just enough to push them past favorites Chelsea on away goals. In recent seasons, PSG have feebly attempted to make their mark in the Champion's League but have tasted no more than a quarter final appearance in the last 5 years. This momentous win over the English giants could not have ended in a more dramatic fashion.
       It was Gary Cahill of Chelsea who netted the first goal of the game, very late on to put his side ahead. David Luiz, PSG's center back, kept fighting, though,and drilled a header in against his old team with minutes left in the match.This brought them to a 2-2 tie on aggregate and so the game was taken to extra time. Early in the extra period, Chelsea's golden boy Eden Hazard slotted away a penalty kick for Silva's hand violation in the box. The PSG captain redeemed himself, however, delivering a header in the final minutes to bring the aggregate to 3-3, the advantage to PSG.
         The performance from the home side was far from convincing and the result reflected so. The beginning 20 minutes of the match were slightly dull, with neither side getting a shot on target and the match being fairly even in terms of possession and momentum. It was at the 31st minute mark where one of the most important moments of the match occurred. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG's leading goal scorer in all competitions, was shown a red card for a sliding challenge on Oscar, a Chelsea midfielder. With PSG down to 10 men and losing their best player, Chelsea felt they had a handle on the game and could easily see the game through the 90 minutes without trouble. The French underdogs were not about to give up that easily, though. Instead, the tide seemed to change in favor of the team playing down a man. This seemed to give PSG renewed energy and they attacked with such momentum and speed it seemed they had more players on the pitch. Edinson Cavani almost brough PSG ahead early on in the second half with a chance on goal that rang off the post. Chelsea couldn't seem to find their rhythm, even after Gary Cahill smashed a goal in from close-range off a set piece. After Chelsea took the lead in the 81st minute, PSG retaliated by the 86th. Ex-Chelsea defender David Luiz came up for a corner kick and delivered a smashing header into the top corner, sending the game into overtime.
        In the early minutes of extra time, Thiago Silva of PSG went up for a header and intentionally hit the ball away with his hand. The referee caught this offense and awarded Chelsea a PK. Eden Hazard, who has a 100% conversion rate on penalty kicks this season, stepped up to take it. He placed it easily to the side of the keeper, pushing Chelsea ahead 3-2 on aggregate. The PSG captain was not allowing this game to end so easily for the home side. Just minutes after giving up the penalty that Chelsea took the lead by, Thiago Silva netted a beautiful header off a corner kick. This put PSG ahead 3-3 on away goals and no further goals were scored. After two late equalizers, PSG's efforts were enough to send them through to the quarter finals of the UCL.