Thibaut Courtois was the hero in Charlotte,
scoring the winning penalty and saving two of
PSG’s in the shoot-out following an exciting 1-1
draw in normal time.
The goalkeeper kept out spot-kicks from Jean-
Christophe Bahebeck and Thiago Silva before
blasting the 14th and final penalty into the top
corner, handing us the victory against the
French champions.
In normal time it was Victor Moses who
cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s opener. The
Swede fired home a rebound midway through
a first half mostly dominated by the Parisians;
indeed we had the impressive Asmir Begovic to
thank for keeping their lead at one.
Chelsea were much improved after the break
and deservedly levelled when Cesc Fabregas
expertly picked out a fine Moses run, who
subsequent close-range volley was crisp and
clinical. Falcao then came on for his first
appearance in a Chelsea shirt and impressed.
He was also one of six Chelsea players to score
their penalty having stepped up first.
The starting line-up included the back four
that began so many games together last
season, and behind them, as Jose Mourinho
had promised, was Begovic. As in New Jersey,
Victor Moses began out wide, while there were
first starts of the summer for Nemanja Matic,
Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.
PSG’s team had plenty of familiar faces, none
more so than David Luiz. Ibrahimovic
captained.
It was our talisman in attack, Diego Costa,
who sparked the first incident of note, fouling
Aurier and then receiving a hefty shove in the
chest from the irate Ivorian. Our very modern
rivalry with the Parisians suggested this wasn’t
going to be the friendliest of friendlies.
Then came a crude challenge on Fabregas
from Matuidi. After PSG didn’t fully clear their
lines from the resulting set-piece, Moses
brilliantly burst into the box and squared for
Ivanovic, who had stayed forward, but his
shot lacked the necessary power to truly
threaten Kevin Trapp’s goal.
At the other end, Ibrahimovic hit a solid
defensive wall with a free-kick and Lucas
Moura dragged a shot wide from distance. It
had been a lively opening 15 minutes in front
of a crowd full of Chelsea blue.
Ten minutes later they saw a goal but it wasn’t
scored by one of their heroes as PSG took the
lead. Matuidi won possession near the edge of
our box, possibly illegally, and fed Jean-Kevin
Augustin. The 18-year-old’s shot was a fierce
one, hitting the inside of the post and falling
kindly to the free Ibrahimovic. He stroked the
ball into the unguarded net first time.
Diego Costa almost struck back immediately.
Latching on to a typically astute Fabregas pass
inside the 18-yard box, the striker thumped his
effort off the angle of post and bar. A crucial
touch from Trapp had kept it out.
Our keeper Begovic then made an equally
impressive stop, reacting sharply after Moura’s
20-yard drive took a hefty deflection off
Cahill. A very strong left hand turned it round
the post.
PSG had two penalty appeals waved away in
30 seconds after Cesar Azpilicueta became the
game’s first booking, and with the Blues
seemingly still rattled at the back Verratti
ghosted in unmarked but scooped an impudent
effort wide.
The French side’s good period continued when
Augustin stole a march on Ivanovic behind our
defence. There he went eye to eye with Begovic,
who had shown another important goalkeeping
attribute by racing off his line alert to the
danger. The Bosnian’s big frame blocked the
shot.
He had one more bit of work to do before the
interval, stretching low to his left to divert a
Moura daisy cutter wide of the post. It had
been an excellent half for our new keeper.

Three new Chelsea faces came out for the
second half, and one, Begovic’s replacement
Courtois, was immediately in the action,
gathering a shot from PSG sub Thiago Motta
at the second attempt. Kurt Zouma and
Ramires were the other fresh faces.
The occasionally fractious nature of the game
continued when Adrien Rabiot and Aurier went
into the book for bad tackles on Hazard and
Diego Costa respectively. The striker pounced
on a loose Paris pass and picked out Fabregas
whose shot was blocked; Moses following up
fired wide.
Those same two players linked up to perfection
moments later, however. It was Fabregas with
the cross, perfectly-weighted, and Moses with
the movement and confident first-time volleyed
finish that brought the equaliser. The winger’s
celebration was as spectacular as the move
that preceded it!
Five minutes later the Chelsea supporters in the
Bank of America Stadium had reason to roar
almost as loudly as they did for the goal when
Falcao was introduced.
The Colombian was immediately involved,
impressively winning possession back and
finding fellow sub Loic Remy. His shot was low
and hard and needed saving. Not long after,
with Chelsea now well on top and looking
dangerous with every attack, Falcao had an
effort of his own blocked. The chance was
created thanks to his good movement in the
box.
Two other South Americans introduced by
Mourinho then linked up to good effect as
Oscar from deep picked out Juan Cuadrado’s
penetrative run. He opted not to shoot having
raced clear and the opportunity passed.
Penalties loomed. The closest either side came
to preventing them was in stoppage time when
PSG’s Christopher Nkunku stung Courtois’
palms with a long-ranger. But penalties it was.
Falcao and Azpilicueta got Chelsea up and
running confidently but with PSG scoring their
first three spot-kicks Cuadrado’s subsequent
miss could have proved costly.
Instead Courtois denied Bahebeck and so on
the shoot-out went. Five more penalties –
including Remy , Oscar and Willian for us –
were scored, before Courtois seized the
initiative. First he kept out Thiago Silva’s effort
with ease, then smashed his own shot into the
roof of the net, as though taking a goal-kick.
It was an emphatic end to an enjoyable
encounter.
Chelsea: Begovic ( Courtois h/t), Ivanovic,
Cahill ( Zouma h/t), Terry (c), Azpilicueta;
Mikel ( Ramires h/t), Matic (Willian 70);
Moses (Remy 70), Fabregas (Oscar 70),
Hazard (Cuadrado 74); Diego Costa (Falcao
70).
Unused Subs: Aina, Chalobah, Aina,
Clarke-Salter, Loftus-Cheek, Traore, Solanke.
Penalty shoot-out scorers: Falcao,
Azpilicueta, Remy , Oscar, Willian, Courtois
Booked Azpilicueta 34
Culled from Chelsea FC

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/07/26/courtois-scores-winner-as-chelsea-beat-psg/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKCs0OLjcXU
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