Chelsea bridge the gap, reach semis
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Bemba Ba scores in the nick of time as Blues overturn a 3-1 first leg deficit with a 2-0 win at home, advance on away goal rule
LONDON: Growing up, Demba Ba dreamed about scoring big goals for Paris Saint-Germain. With the team he supported as a child on the verge of reaching the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 19 years, Ba instead scored the goal that knocked them out.
Now it is Chelsea joining European football’s elite in the last four for the seventh time in 11 years.
Ba seemed the most improbable player to complete Chelsea’s comeback, having been largely overlooked for much of this season, but he delivered from the bench when it mattered most. Ba’s sixth goal of the season in the 87th minute, after Andre Schuerrle’s first-half opener, clinched a 2-0 victory that overturned a 3-1 loss from the first leg and sent Chelsea through on away goals. With a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, PSG looked favourites to advance to the semifinals. However, Chelsea, who had overcome a similar deficit against Napoli, took the French club by surprise.
STIKERS? JOSE GOT THREE
A week after bemoaning his lack of lethal strikers, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho had all three of them on the pitch. Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba had only scored 23 goals between them in 48 matches in all competitions this season.
SIMPLY BLANC
Brazil forward Lucas, who has not scored in his last 28 games in all competitions, often missed the obvious pass. Yet Blanc left him on the pitch when he decided to send Pastore on after 73 minutes and took Ezequiel Lavezzi off.
INEXPERIENCED PSG
Paris St Germain have invested heavily in a five-year project to win the Champions League but money alone could not buy the collective experience or right tactical choices to hold off a battle-hardened Chelsea in the quarterfinals. The French giants were outfoxed by Mourinho.
MISSING ZLATAN
PSG dominated the opening spell but with the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic missing, they lacked a cutting edge up front and when they finally did create an opening, Edinson Cavani, their record signing this summer, missed two chances JOSE MOURINHO, Chelsea manager LAURENT BLANC, PSG manager LONDON: Jose Mourinho’s touchline dash after Chelsea scored the goal that clinched their Champions League semifinal was not done just because he wanted to celebrate with his players by the corner flag. “I didn’t go to the corner flag to celebrate, but you can see I can run,” Mourinho said. “I went to tell them the changes we had to make. There were three minutes plus added time left and the way we were playing was too risky. “I wanted Demba Ba to play in front of the defenders.”