Just over a year ago, the French club went into their UEFA Champions League quarter-final with the Blues as the rising new force in European football, only to be handed a bitter defeat
that abruptly stalled their progress.
How fitting, then, that the Ligue 1 titleholders will be reunited with José Mourinho's charges as they attempt to resume their forward momentum.
Laurent Blanc's men claimed the French title and League Cup following their loss to Chelsea, but in truth they have been stuck in a holding pattern ever since. Craving UEFA Champions League success above all else, the entire club has been waiting for an occasion of this magnitude. And despite a clutch of weekend injuries that reinforced their underdog status, that burning desire should prove one of Paris's major assets – allied with a timely upturn in form for several key players.
Last season
"Over the two matches, there was very little between the two sides," said Blanc after Paris were stunned by Demba Ba's late second-leg effort at Stamford Bridge. The French hopefuls had forced themselves into a strong position with a 3-1 victory in their quarter-final opener, but Eden Hazard's 27th-minute penalty in that game came back to haunt them as they exited on away goals.
Missing injured talisman Zlatan Ibrahimović in the second leg, Paris fell behind to an André Schürrle goal, yet they were still poised to advance until substitute Ba – a Paris fan – bundled in from close range with three minutes remaining. "Ultimately, Chelsea's experience of playing at this level of the competition made the very small difference," lamented Blanc
How fitting, then, that the Ligue 1 titleholders will be reunited with José Mourinho's charges as they attempt to resume their forward momentum.
Laurent Blanc's men claimed the French title and League Cup following their loss to Chelsea, but in truth they have been stuck in a holding pattern ever since. Craving UEFA Champions League success above all else, the entire club has been waiting for an occasion of this magnitude. And despite a clutch of weekend injuries that reinforced their underdog status, that burning desire should prove one of Paris's major assets – allied with a timely upturn in form for several key players.
Last season
"Over the two matches, there was very little between the two sides," said Blanc after Paris were stunned by Demba Ba's late second-leg effort at Stamford Bridge. The French hopefuls had forced themselves into a strong position with a 3-1 victory in their quarter-final opener, but Eden Hazard's 27th-minute penalty in that game came back to haunt them as they exited on away goals.
Missing injured talisman Zlatan Ibrahimović in the second leg, Paris fell behind to an André Schürrle goal, yet they were still poised to advance until substitute Ba – a Paris fan – bundled in from close range with three minutes remaining. "Ultimately, Chelsea's experience of playing at this level of the competition made the very small difference," lamented Blanc
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