Sports
UCL: Mikel’s goal not good enough for Chelsea
In from Ripples Nigeria . . .
Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi, was on target for Chelsea but his effort could not save his club as they suffered a late 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in a pulsating first leg in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League in Paris on Tuesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead with a powerful free-kick in the 39th minute, only for Chelsea to level against the run of play on the stroke of halftime with a rare goal from Mikel.
Struggling striker Edinson Cavani came off the bench to score the winner, latched onto a superb pass over Chelsea’s stretched defense from winger Angel di Maria and slotted through the legs of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from a narrow angle in the 78th minute.
Courtois made a string of saves to keep Chelsea in contention heading into the second leg.
Read also: Martins not signed to Shanghai Shenhua-Sounders
Meanwhile, Jonas struck with a stoppage-time header to end 90 minutes of frustration for Benfica as they beat an ultra-cautious Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 at home in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
Nicolas Gaitan floated a free kick into the area and the Brazilian rose to break the deadlock.
Zenit defender Domenico Criscito had been sent off for a second yellow card for the foul which led to the free kick.
The first half had been an unsightly slog with 16 fouls, seven offsides and four bookings.
Benfica came to life in the second half but still struggled to create chances against a tightly-packed, well-drilled Zenit, who were playing their first competitive match since December 9.
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