Chelsea vs. PSG: Key Jose Mourinho Comments from Pre-Match Presser

After earning a 1-1 draw in the away leg of their round-of-16 clash against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea can stand to nurture some high hopes of advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday evening. 

Speaking to the media ahead of the return leg, Blues manager Jose Mourinho was quoted by Chelsea's official Twitter account as proclaiming the tie is in a state of equilibrium as things stand and that his team plan to chase the result:

The veteran tactician is also pleased to have a fit and healthy Cesc Fabregas back among his ranks after the Spaniard spent some time on the sidelines through injury of late.

Unsurprisingly, Mourinho is over the moon to have such a prolific creative figure featuring so prominently for his side, taking note of Fabregas' happiness at playing in west London:

Another squad boost for Mourinho is to have Nemanja Matic back in the side following his domestic ban, although the manager hints the Serbian may be lacking in match fitness, while John Obi Mikel is unavailable:

And just as he did before the Capital One Cup triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, Mourinho was eager to enforce the notion of taking his team's campaign one fixture at a time:

Despite getting this season's trophy haul off to an early start, the Portuguese also insisted that Chelsea 's League Cup victory won't affect preparations for Wednesday's assault, acknowledging the quality in Laurent Blanc's squad:

Chelsea's League Cup glory came not long after the club were knocked out of the FA Cup by minnows Bradford City in a shock result.

The Bantams will have been up there with some of the more rabid contenders the Blues have faced this season, but Mourinho insisted PSG have been the most aggressive, per Tom Williams of the Agence France-Presse:

Mourinho also noted the French giants' alleged attempts to foul star Eden Hazard, who once again stood out as one of Chelsea's biggest threats in Paris:

That being said, Get French Football cites OptaJean's David Wall as attesting the foul count being shared in the first leg, with each team committing 20 offences:

Chelsea go into their midweek European tie leading the Premier League by five points and having earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over West Ham last week.

Meanwhile, PSG trounced Lens 4-1 in Saturday's Ligue 1 outing—a win in which Zlatan Ibrahimovic shone—but Mourinho assured the media his side would be watching out for more than the Swede alone:

And in the process of hailing Blanc's attack, Mourinho also heaped praise on his own options up front—Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba—adding that irrespective of which side exits tomorrow, the Champions League will be losing a top team:

Mourinho is correct in asserting that a massive European power will be exiting the Champions League regardless of who comes out on top at Stamford Bridge.

Blanc will be equally as confident in his own side's ability as they look extend their current unbeaten streak to 10 matches across all competitions.

With the score finely poised at 1-1, both outfits will be hesitant to offer their opponent opportunities in front of goal, with a Champions League semi-final place too precious a prize to put at risk.