PARIS — The much-maligned Edinson Cavani came off the bench to score the winner as Paris Saint-Germain edged Chelsea 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie Tuesday.
Cavani beat the excellent Thibaut Courtois in the 78th minute at the Parc des Princes, just four minutes after coming on as a substitute, to give the French champion the advantage ahead of the second leg on March 9.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had earlier given Paris the lead from a deflected free-kick only for a rare John Obi Mikel goal on the stroke of half-time to bring Chelsea level.
PSG’s win in what was a high-quality encounter means they have still lost just once — to Real Madrid — in 40 games this season, while it was a first defeat for Chelsea since Guus Hiddink replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho in December.
Last season, Cavani equalized in a 1-1 home draw with Chelsea before PSG went on to qualify for the last eight on away goals with a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
A delighted Cavani said after Tuesday’s win: “It was a fantastic night ... We the strikers we live for scoring goals and when we do score, it’s like a new lease of life.”
“It was a great game. A Chelsea team that people said was in difficulty showed that they are getting their color back as well as the discipline that allows them to defend well and break with incredible pace,” PSG coach Laurent Blanc told beIN Sports.
Hiddink said: “Of course a defeat is never a good or nice feeling but you have to consider it’s a two-leg game and scoring away is always important. “Losing 2-1, of course we’re still in the race.”
With John Terry absent, Chelsea’s reshuffled defense featured skipper for the night Branislav Ivanovic in the middle alongside Gary Cahill with Cesar Azpilicueta at right-back and Baba Rahman on the other side.
Marquinhos started at right-back for PSG after Serge Aurier was ruled out by the club for disciplinary reasons, while Marco Verratti returned to the starting line-up after a month of fitness struggles.
With the Italian midfielder pulling the strings from the off, Paris started strongly, asphyxiating Chelsea with their high press.
Such a bright opening led to chances, with Verratti seeing his shot from 20 yards beaten away by Courtois and Lucas hitting one narrowly wide inside the first five minutes.
In the night’s other match, Benfica beat Zenit St. Petersburg 1-0 in Lisbon thanks to an injury-time goal from Brazilian striker Jonas.
Brazilian striker Jonas, Benfica’s and the Portuguese league’s top scorer, netted for the 26th time this season with a glancing header from a free kick in 91st minute.
That was awarded after Criscito picked up his second yellow card of the game for a foul on Andre Almeida.
Neither team really shone in the first leg, last 16 game at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, though the win spared Benfica what looked likely to be a goalless draw and a tough time in Russia.
Zenit’s Portuguese coach Andre Villas-Boas rued what he saw as a missed chance to return to Russia with a blank scoresheet. “We’ll need to create more chances than today,” he said. “We held on well ... We weren’t as good in the second half.”
“It was a fair result,” Benfica coach Rui Vitoria said.
UEFA charges Lokomotiv, player
UEFA says it has charged Lokomotiv Moscow and its player Dmitri Tarasov with improper conduct for revealing a picture of Russian president Vladimir Putin on his T-shirt after a politically charged game in Turkey.
UEFA rules prohibit political statements at its matches and the laws of football ban players revealing images and slogans on undergarments.
Tarasov took off his team shirt to reveal the Putin vest after Lokomotiv played Fenerbahce in Istanbul Tuesday. The Russian side lost 2-0 in the Europa League round of 32, first-leg match.
