PSG vs. Chelsea: Score, Grades and Reaction from 2015 ICC

Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain 6-5 on penalties Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the 2015 International Champions Cup.

The two teams needed a penalty shootout to decide a winner after Victor Moses canceled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic's goal in regular time.

Thibaut Courtois played the role of Chelsea's hero. The Blues goalkeeper first stonewalled Thiago Motta on PSG's seventh penalty. Then, he stepped up to the penalty spot for what proved to be the decisive spot-kick.

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu had no chance to stop his opposite number, whose shot hit the side netting inside the left post—that's how well he struck it.

In total, Chelsea didn't play a brilliant match, but they'll be happy with the result. It was a nice win against a PSG side that played nearly all of their key players at one point or another. At the very least, the victory was a far cry from their opening match of the tournament.

Earlier in the week, Chelsea suffered a rather ignominious 4-2 defeat to what was essentially the New York Red Bulls' reserve team. Making his debut for the Blues, goalkeeper Asmir Begovic allowed all four goals in the second half.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho chalked up Begovic's performance as "a consequence of being tired from training," per BBC Sport.

"I was surprised by our fragilities," Mourinho added about his defense in general. "I was surprised that we were not good enough in the second half to cope with that."

Saturday's match offered a chance at redemption against what was a much stronger opponent.

For the first half, the Blues' defensive issues were once again an issue, as Paris Saint-Germain peppered Begovic with 10 shots, four of which were on target.

The blame for the French champions' advantage couldn't fall on Begovic, whom Chelsea HQ rightly praised for his effort to keep Paris Saint-Germain from running away with the match:

Case in point, Begovic's defense did little to help him on PSG's opening goal in the 25th minute.

John Obi Mikel lost the ball near the edge of his own 18-yard box. Jean-Kevin Augustin quickly picked it up and unleashed a right-footed shot that hit off the left post. Ibrahimovic was left completely unmarked to pounce on the rebound.

Begovic might have been well out of position to make the save, but Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe argued Ibrahimovic's finish wasn't as easy as it looked:

In Chelsea's defense, you could argue Ibrahimovic shouldn't have even been on the pitch at that point. He got away with what looked to be a deliberate elbow to John Terry's head earlier in the match (via World Soccer Talk):

The fact that Ibra went on to score a little later only rubbed salt into the wound.

Paris Saint-Germain were by far the stronger of the two sides through the first half. Chelsea's defense was under pressure quite a bit and looked to be working out the kinks ahead of the Premier League season.

Mourinho made some changes at halftime, bringing on Kurt Zouma and Ramires for Gary Cahill and Mikel. Between that and whatever Mourinho told his team in the locker room, Chelsea came out a different club in the second half.

Cesc Fabregas should've equalized in the 62nd minute. Capitalizing on Adrien Rabiot's turnover, the Spanish midfielder had an open shot at goal on the edge of the 18-yard box. He instead opted to take another touch, which allowed Rabiot to recover and block the eventual shot. Moses' attempted rebound went wide of the left post.

Fabregas made up for the miss in the 65th minute, delivering a perfect pass over the top of the PSG defense to Moses' feet. The 24-year-old had a rather straightforward finish to put Chelsea on level terms.

Fabregas' assist was truly a joy to behold (via 101 Great Goals):

French football writer Jonathan Johnson felt a bit sorry for Sirigu, who had no time to settle before Chelsea besieged the PSG half:

Shortly after the goal, Chelsea made four substitutions, which stymied the fluidity they had begun building since the start of the second half. Paris Saint-Germain's handful of late substitutions caused the match to slow down quite a bit.

Neither side looked to be purposefully playing for penalties, but that looked the likely outcome as nobody could string together a number of passes together in midfield.

Chelsea will look to continue the momentum they earned in Tuesday night's victory against Barcelona. The two European giants will clash in Landover, Maryland.

PSG, meanwhile, will play Manchester United on Wednesday night in a match that's sure to pack Soldier Field in Chicago.

Selected Grades

Jean-Kevin Augustin, Paris Saint-Germain: B

Ibrahimovic was the goalscorer, but Augustin arguably had the stronger of the two performances. The 18-year-old continues to be a pleasant surprise for Paris Saint-Germain.

You never want to read too much into a player's pre-season performance, but what Augustin is displaying—a good sense of spatial awareness and strong first touch in particular—should carry over well once the real matches begin, wherever he's playing.

Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea: B+

Admittedly, Courtois didn't have a ton to do before the penalty shootout. However, he not only made the decisive save in the shootout but also the decisive goal as well. You don't see a lot of goalkeepers accomplishing each of those tasks in direct succession.

This might be the year the 23-year-old supplants Manuel Neuer as the world's best goalkeeper. Courtois has been knocking on the door for a few years now, and he might be at the point in his career where he can reasonably give Neuer a run for his money.

Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea: B

Chelsea fans were likely cursing Fabregas after he spoiled a golden opportunity to score, but they quickly came around after Cesc put that pass right on Moses' boot for the Blues' equalizer.

Last year, Fabregas got off to a blistering start to the Premier League season before falling back to Earth after a few months. Now that he has spent a full year back in England, he might be able to maintain a high level of consistency from start to finish.

As evidenced by his assist, Fabregas looks more than prepared for when Chelsea kick off the new campaign.

Bleacher Report is Official Media Partner of the International Champions Cup North America.

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