That came in the 74th minute, after Chelsea had twice come from behind with Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez replying to strikes by Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele for the hosts.
Liam Rosenior; (right) Chelsea’s Filip Jorgensen is distraught after his error leads to PSG’s third goal. Pics/Getty Images
Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior defended Filip Jorgensen after the Danish goalkeeper's mistake sparked a late collapse which saw his side lose 2-5 to a rampant Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday. "Players make mistakes and Filip is not the first one to do so. It is part of football but obviously it is bitter," said Rosenior in reference to a poor Jorgensen pass which was intercepted and led to Vitinha scoring PSG's third goal.
That came in the 74th minute, after Chelsea had twice come from behind with Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez replying to strikes by Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele for the hosts. Even after that, Joao Pedro was then denied a third equaliser because of a tight offside call, before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's late brace gave PSG a three-goal advantage to take into the return.
"It is a very disappointing result on an evening where for much of the game I was really happy with the performance," Rosenior added. "The last 15 to 20 minutes were crazy in many aspects, and that is on me. "Setbacks happen but you have to stay calm in the moment and we didn't and we were punished by a very good team.
"It is a painful one because for 70 minutes we were in the tie and the game." The coach's decision to start Jorgensen over Robert Sanchez will now be in the spotlight, with the Dane playing in a Champions League game for just the third time this season -- he had also been given the nod against Aston Villa in the Premier League last week.
Extra rest for PSG
"Both have different qualities. Rob is outstanding from crosses and an outstanding shot-stopper," Rosenior said. "I am trying to win in the short term and in the long term. "I feel Filip has different qualities and one of those qualities, which he showed against Aston Villa, is that we were so calm in possession, which we were not before.
"Coming here against a really high-pressing team, if you stay calm and play through the initial press you can cause a lot of problems, which we did." Rosenior admitted his team had "kind of shot ourselves in the foot" but said Jorgensen had taken responsibility for his mistake. "The first thing is credit to him. He held his hands up in the dressing room.
"Mistakes happen. Everybody makes mistakes, and what we have to do is look after each other. "We have a huge game in three days against Newcastle and we want to see a real reaction and resilience about us in the next game." While Chelsea have that key Premier League match before welcoming PSG to Stamford Bridge next Tuesday, PSG have a weekend off after their Ligue 1 game against Nantes was postponed to allow them to rest.
"We kept trying to play against a very physical and very good technical team," said PSG coach Luis Enrique. "We need to keep going and also rest to prepare for the second leg." His team is still trying to rediscover the form which led them to European glory last season, although the Spaniard knows that matching those standards is not easy.
"There are all the comparisons with last year but it is impossible to be at that level," he said. "We are very resilient, I think that is a word which defines our team, and we are very happy."
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