Chelsea vs. PSG: Score, Grades, Reaction from 2014/15 Champions League

Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League, as PSG came from behind twice to claim a 2-2 draw after extra time and a 3-3 aggregate win on the away-goals rule.

Much of the focus was on the controversial dismissal of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but the Swede's team-mates did him proud and rallied to claim a place in the last eight, courtesy of an extra-time header from Thiago Silva.

It was a thrilling performance from PSG, while Chelsea paid the price for not going on the offensive when their opponents were down to 10 men.

From the outset Chelsea were intent on pressing high, while PSG were in no mood to sit back, which made for an open contest.

While there was plenty of attacking intent, there was also a bit of scrappy play on show—with Blaise Matuidi leaving a calling card on Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa doing likewise on David Luiz.

PSG came into the game knowing they needed a goal to stand any chance of progressing, and they came close to scoring inside two minutes.

A great pass from Marco Verratti looked to have played in Edinson Cavani, but John Terry was alert to the danger and tracked the Uruguayan before smuggling the ball to safety.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Hazard was at the heart of Chelsea's positive early play. It was a shame for the Blues that Ramires was not on the same wavelength as his team-mate just past the 20-minute mark.

Hazard dashed forward before looking for a one-two with Ramires on the edge of the box, but was left frustrated as the Brazilian made a hash of the return pass.

The contest was evenly balanced, but it tipped sharply in Chelsea's favour—or so it seemed—31 minutes in, when referee Bjorn Kuipers showed Ibrahimovic a red card.

"

Harsh red on Zlatan. Ref mistakenly thinks he's gone in 2-footed. Blanc can blame ref, Uefa, Unicef etc

— Matt Dickinson (@DickinsonTimes) March 11, 2015"

Both Ibrahimovic and Oscar dived in for a loose ball. It looked like both could easily have been guilty of an offence or no offence at all, depending on your viewpoint, but Kuipers deemed Ibrahimovic to be the offender and showed the Swede a straight red card.

The referee was extremely quick to pull out the card, which will thrust the debate over TV replays back into the spotlight, while the sight of Chelsea players surrounding the official demanding action was extremely ugly.

"

Another decision that'd be served by deferring to a fifth official looking at a screen for no more than 30 secs.

— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) March 11, 2015"

Kuipers was a man firmly in the spotlight, and at the 43-minute mark, he rejected Chelsea appeals for a penalty after Cavani had appeared to trip Costa in the box.

The Blues striker's reaction, beating the ground in frustration, told everything you needed to know about the decision.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

At half-time in the Sky Sports studio, Thierry Henry summed things up when he said, "For me, so far, the man of the match is the referee. That is not what we want to see.

"We have the luxury of seeing the replay, but give yourself one or two seconds before making a judgement. He is by far, for me, the man of the match."

Chelsea looked somewhat lethargic at the start of the second half and almost paid the price before the hour mark, when Cavani dashed clear. He did superbly to glide past Thibaut Courtois but saw his shot crash against the post and away to safety.

"

Edinson Cavani has now hit the woodwork twice in the Champions League this season, only Jackson Martinez has hit it more (3 times).

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 11, 2015"

PSG continued to press, and it looked like Chelsea were the side with 10 men, given the two teams' pace of play. It took a smart save from Courtois to repel Javier Pastore.

Chelsea looked leggy and extremely out of sorts, but they had a will to win and settled the nerves around Stamford Bridge when Gary Cahill scored with nine minutes remaining.

The goal actually mattered little to PSG, who needed a goal from the outset, and they found a lifeline with four minutes remaining.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

So often past players come back to haunt their old clubs, and Luiz popped up with a bullet header at 86 minutes to take the contest into extra time.

Kuipers got a lot wrong in the first 90 minutes, but he got a big call right in the fifth minute of extra time, when he spotted a handball in the box from Silva. As a result, Hazard slotted home the penalty that put Chelsea back in the driving seat.

Chelsea did not put the match to bed, and Silva made them pay.

Seconds after seeing Courtois make a brilliant save to deny him, the Brazilian climbed above Terry and sent a header looping over the keeper and into the net.

The goal made it 3-3 on aggregate, but the two away goals were enough for PSG to send Chelsea crashing out.

Notable Grades

Blaise Matuidi: B+

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

It was a true box-to-box display from Matuidi, who was dedicated enough to protect his own defenders and determined enough to support the attack. His role changed after the red card, but it was an impressive display.

David Luiz: B+

Luiz had a running battle with Costa and seized his moment in the spotlight with a stunning goal.

Eden Hazard: B+

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Chelsea have a host of quality attackers on show, and Hazard is the Rolls-Royce in the pack. He looks dangerous every time he has the ball and is always looking to make something happen. It's a shame his team-mates were not on his level.

Bjorn Kuipers: F

It cannot be any other grade for the referee who got a stack of big decisions wrong. It's just not good for football that games are being influenced by poor calls from officials.

Reaction

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, via PA Sport (h/t ESPN FC):

"

I want to discuss that with the players tomorrow and see the game in a calm way. I want to see their feelings, I want to know what they felt on the pitch and we must try to find conclusions about our performance. Our performance wasn't good enough.

Of course we have the game in our hands twice but the opponent was stronger than us. They coped better with the pressure of the game.

Maybe because they were with 10 men we felt even more the pressure of winning and they had nothing to lose. They were just playing their game.

We conceded two goals from two set pieces where the organisation is clear and it's absolutely decided the players are in the zone. We conceded two goals that are difficult to accept.

"

PSG defender David Luiz, via Sky Sports:

"

It was good for me to score. I said before I wouldn’t celebrate, but it was so emotional—I couldn’t control myself. Thank you to Chelsea because they support me a lot but also I’m sorry for celebrating.

My cycle finished at Chelsea and I had a great opportunity from PSG. They gave me a great opportunity to try and continue my career. I was very happy at Chelsea but the cycle finished. I respect everyone here.

"