Chelsea have been eliminated from the Champions League on away goals after drawing 2-2 with 10-man Paris Saint-Germain in a feisty second-leg round-of-16 clash at Stamford Bridge tonight.
Gary Cahill vollyed home the opener on 81 minutes as PSG – who had Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off after 32 minutes – looked on the brink of elimination.
However, David Luiz returned to haunt his former club by heading home an 85th-minute equaliser to force extra time, before Eden Hazard’s penalty put Chelsea in the driving seat once more.
There was one final twist, however, as Thiago Silva rose highest in the 114th minute to head the Ligue 1 champions into the quarters.
With goalscoring opportunities at a premium for both sides, it took the best part of half-an-hour for the game to throw up a talking point, as Ibrahimovic was given a controversial red card.
The Swede, whose struggles against English opposition were well documented in the build-up, was dismissed following a 50-50 challenge with Oscar as les Parisiens fumed at referee Bjorn Kuipers.
But it was the men in blue who soon felt aggrieved, as Kuipers rejected what looked a strong case for a penalty when the tenacious Diego Costa bulldozed his way through a number of challenges before going to ground under a challenge from Edinson Cavani.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, it was the visitors who fashioned the first clear-cut opportunity in front of goal as Cavani struck the post after rounding Thibaut Courtois in a major scare for Chelsea.
It took some 80 minutes for Jose Mourinho’s side to threaten, with Ramires running through on goal at an angle but his near-post effort was beaten away by Salvatore Sirigu.
It proved a sign of things to come, however, as Cahill lashed home a sweetly-struck volley a minute later to put the Blues within touching distance of the quarter-finals.
Unperturbed, Laurent Blanc’s side carried on in the same vein and went close through Ezequiel Lavezzi, before Luiz thundered a deserved equaliser beyond Courtois on 86 minutes to force extra time.
The pendulum swung back in Chelsea’s favour early on in the additional half-hour when Silva inexplicably handled inside the box as Hazard nonchalantly rolled home the resulting penalty.
Still, Mourinho’s men never looked comfortable and Silva atoned for his handball by powering a magnificent header past Courtois – who had denied him with a fine save moments earlier – to punish lacklustre Chelsea.
Good luck to AFC.