PSG 2 Chelsea 1: Guus Hiddink believes Blues are still alive after crucial away goal from John Obi Mikel
Mikel cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic's opener but substitute Edinson Cavani ensured PSG head to Stamford Bridge with a 2-1 advantage
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Your support makes all the difference.Guus Hiddink insisted Chelsea remain alive in the Champions League, despite Edinson Cavani’s 78th minute winner which secured a 2-1 Champions League victory for Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 first-leg tie in the French capital.
John Obi Mikel’s goal in first-half stoppage time, which cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahmovic’s opener for the PSG, ensured that Chelsea can go into next month’s return leg at Stamford Bridge with the knowledge that a 1-0 win will confirm progression to the quarter-finals.
And Hiddink, who suffered the first defeat of his second spell as Chelsea interim manager in the Parc des Princes, claimed that his team continue to have a chance of overcoming the French champions.
“A defeat is never a good or nice feeling, but it's a two-legged game and scoring away is always good,” Hiddink said. “We reflect on that, and on the very good tactical and defensive organisation.
“We had some danger also. We were not killing in the four or five counters we had and we could have gone a bit further than that, but, losing 2-1, we're still in the race.
“It's 50-50 still. Okay, we start again and if you take the emotion out a bit and analyse the game well, and our opponents were a very good and strong team, I say 50-50.”
Although PSG dominated, with former Manchester United winger Angel di Maria outstanding for the home team, Chelsea forward Diego Costa forced two crucial saves from goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
And Hiddink admitted his team were unlucky not to emerge from Paris with a more positive result.
“We had the possibilities, one or two chances before the equaliser to hurt them,” Hiddink said. “They were a bit unstable in the way they played.
“We were nervous in the first 10 minutes and forgot to play, but we were a little bit unlucky in our finishing and with our last pass.”
Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic insisted his team can overturn the first-leg deficit at Stamford Bridge on 9 March.
“In the end they scored a massive goal for them,” Ivanovic said. “But we keep going, we keep fighting.
“It was difficult, but we will try to do everything to win at home and go through.
“It was a very difficult moment for our team, very difficult because of a lot of things, but we came here with courage and tried to score the goal.
“We lost a little bit of concentration in the end and left a little gate open. The top strikers, like Paris has, they use every single chance.
“We have to be more compact and more careful with these kind of things, because this small difference can decide the game in London.”
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