Sports News of Wednesday, 18 March 2026

Source: www.completesports.com

Chelsea set unwanted club record after heavyweight defeat to PSG

Chelsea were thumped 8-2 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain Chelsea were thumped 8-2 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain

Chelsea set a new unwanted club record as Liam Rosenior’s men were embarrassed by Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

The Blues hosted the reigning European champions at Stamford Bridge in the second leg of their knockout battle needing to produce a comeback of the ages to stand a chance of advancing.

Rosenior oversaw a 5-2 loss at the Parc des Princes last week, and the head coach was dealt a devastating blow prior to kickoff, losing captain Reece James to another hamstring injury.

Mamadou Sarr was selected to replace the England international, while Rosenior also made the bold decision to drop Wesley Fofana and pair Jorrel Hato with Trevoh Chalobah in central defence.

The Sarr call backfired immediately, as within the first 10 minutes of the match, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia latched onto Matvey Safonov’s long ball, spun the former Strasbourg man and coolly finished.

The visitors doubled their lead before the breakthrough Bradley Barcola, whose second goal in two games triggered an exodus of Chelsea fans and a chorus of boos from those that stayed.

Things went from bad to worse for the Club World Cup winners in the second 45, when Senny Mayulu picked out the top corner to seal a 3-0 victory for Luis Enrique’s men on the night.

PSG advanced to the quarter-finals of the competition with an 8-2 aggregate victory, marking the first time ever that Chelsea had conceded as many as eight goals in a two-legged knockout tie in their history.

The Blues had never let in an octet of efforts in any domestic or European knockout tie before facing PSG, who avenged their 3-0 Club World Cup final loss to Chelsea in merciless fashion.

The reigning champions will now face either Liverpool or Galatasaray in the quarter-finals of the competition, as the Turkish side head to Anfield with a 1-0 lead from their last 16 first leg.