Chelsea's defensive frailties, highlighted by their loss to Arsenal, offer a clear blueprint for PSG's Champions League clash.
Qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League after eliminating AS Monaco in the playoff round (2-3, 2-2), PSG drew Chelsea at this stage of the competition.
The two clubs will face each other at the Parc des Princes on March 11 for the first leg, and at Stamford Bridge on March 17.
If the Parisians won last night against Le Havre during the 24th round of Ligue 1 (0-1), Chelsea faced Premier League leader Arsenal this Sunday evening for a London derby as part of the 28th round of the Premier League.
In a first half poor in chances, the two teams shook the net on two corners. Arsenal opened the scoring through William Saliba.
On a corner kicked by Bukayo Saka, Gabriel put the ball back into Chelsea's area and saw the French international beat the Blues' goalkeeper after a deflection from Mamadou Sarr into his own goal (1-0, 21st). It took until the last five minutes of the first half for Chelsea to equalize thanks to an own goal from Piero Hincapie (1-1, 45th+2).
In the second half, Chelsea came back with better intentions but failed to score despite creating opportunities. It was ultimately Arsenal, on another corner, that regained the advantage.
On a corner kicked from the left by Declan Rice, Robert Sanchez, hindered by Andrey Santos, missed his clearance. Jurrien Timber took advantage to head in from close range (2-1, 66th).
A few minutes after this goal, the Blues were reduced to 10 men. After receiving a yellow card for dissent following Arsenal's second goal, Pedro Neto received a second yellow for a dangerous tackle along the touchline on Gabriel Martinelli (70th). Despite this expulsion, Chelsea was the more dangerous team at the end of the match, creating several chances.
But the London club came up against a great David Raya in goal, who made big saves. The Blues thought they had equalized at the very end of the match, but Delap's goal was logically disallowed for offside (96th).
Chelsea, therefore, loses against the Premier League leader (2-1) and remains sixth, six points from the podium.
Chelsea's XI: Sanchez – James (capt.), Chalobah, Sarr (Adarabioyo, 90th), Hato (Gusto, 75th) – Caicedo, Santos (Lavia, 75th), Fernandez (Delap, 85th) – Neto, Pedro, Palmer (Garnacho, 86th).