Courtesy of Flickr user: Ronnie Macdonald

Yes, it was an away game at a tough ground were PSG have only lost twice in their last 43 games. Yes, it was an upgrade on the 3-1 defeat Chelsea suffered in the same fixture last season. Yes, Chelsea didn’t lose and scored an important away goal (I am stating all the positives from the game, in case you didn’t notice!).

But that does not take away the fact that it was a listless, unimaginative and defeatist performance against a side low on moral and riddled with injuries and fitness issues (someone is clearly in a really foul mood today!). Here are my observations from a really disappointing game (at least on Chelsea’s part)

Mourinho’s “Big Game” Tactics

Credit: Youtube user CFCmotion

I am one of the few people who have tried to justify Mourinho’s tactics in games against the top teams in the EPL. I can understand why he would set out in a defensive shape and try not to lose against teams like Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool because he has the opportunity to make up for the lost points against teams like Stoke City, West Brom, Sunderland etc.

The EPL is like a marathon. It is all about pacing yourself so you do not tire out before the final lap. It is about keeping pace with the big boys, then finishing them off at the final hurdle. The same principle doesn’t apply to knock-out competitions like the Champion’s League which is mainly like a sprint. Every UCL game from the knock-out stage is played against the “big teams” and there is no margin for laxity.

Unfortunately, Mourinho doesn’t seem to understand that fact. Despite all the praise for his meticulous pre-match planning and analysis of opposing teams, it seemed like he had no idea what to do against PSG last night. In fact, it was Laurent Blanc who looked like he did his home work before the game. Chelsea are known to be compact at the middle, so PSG capitalised on Chelsea’s weak right flank (manned by Ivanovic) and kept causing problems almost every time they ran at Chelsea.

The fact that Ramires, Ivanovic, Cahill and Willian were not in sync defensively for most of the game made things even more difficult. Matuidi, Maxwell, Cavani and Lavezzi all utilized the right flank to good effect creating chances that were unfortunately not taken (mainly due to the brilliance of Courtois). The left flank was not left out as Hazard provided little cover for Azpilicueta and allowed Van Der Wiel time and space to run in at will. Fortunately, his crosses and passes were below par all game so he wasn’t a real threat.

To make matters worse, save for the goal scored by Ivanovic (which was well worked by 3 of Chelsea’s 4 defenders), I am hard pressed to remember any moment were Chelsea showed any inventiveness in the attacking third. Mourinho’s “big game” attacking game plan is to pass the ball to Hazard and expect him to do what he does best. Unfortunately, he was fouled every time the ball got to him (was it just 9 fouls? it felt like 50!).

PSG kept Chelsea at arm’s length and the fouls Hazard suffered were mostly too far away to be of any threat to them. Mourinho sets his team to sit back and soak up pressure in such games hoping to get a chance to start a counter attack. It’s so disappointing that despite of the depth of quality we have in attacking positions, he decides to use them to carry out defensive duties in such games. And even the fact that Chelsea are clearly not good at taking advantage of counter attacks only makes it worse.

If there was a perfect time for Chelsea to have a go at PSG and set a marker for the rest of the competition, it was last night. But as usual, Mourinho blew his chance and only caused uncertainty.