Zlatan Ibrahimovic won’t lack for suitors when his contract expires in June — but Chelsea will hope it won’t have to face the Swede again any time soon.
That’s because the Paris Saint-Germain forward scored once again as his side knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League for the second year in succession.
Ibrahimovic has yet to decide where he’ll be playing his football next season but a move to English football would not be out of the realms of possibility.
The 34-year-old, who scored in his side’s first leg victory of this last-16 tie, steered his team into the quarterfinals of Europe’s top club competition with a hugely impressive performance.
He was on form at Stamford Bridge, setting up his side’s first goal and scoring its second to secure a 2-1 victory on the night and a 4-2 win on aggregate.
PSG, 23 points clear at the top of the French league, wobbled briefly when Diego Costa canceled out Adrien Rabiot’s opener
But Ibrahimovic smoothed over any nerves when he fired home from close-range to seal the win.
Old friends
For the third year in succession these two clubs were paired in the knockout stages of the competition.
In 2014, Chelsea triumphed on away goals after winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to wipe out a 3-1 defeat in the first leg.
Last season it was the French side which progressed, courtesy of a 2-2 draw in London after the first game had ended 1-1.
Throw in the fact that Ibrahimovic was sent off in that game and PSG came through courtesy of Thiago Silva’s 114th minute equalizer, it’s not difficult to see why this was such a highly anticipated clash.
PSG, leading 2-1 from the first leg three weeks ago, showed little sign of sitting back and defending its lead during the opening stages.
The game started at a frenetic pace and only a last-ditch block by Branislav Ivanovic, the Chelsea defender, prevented Angel Di Maria from opening the scoring after five minutes.
The visitors, who started in confident mood, struck first when Rabiot bundled home Ibrahimovic’s fine right-wing cross at the far post.
Chelsea, which had struggled to cope with PSG’s pace and movement in the opening stages, gradually got to grips with its opponent.
And it drew level through Costa’s wonderful strike 12 minutes later with the Spaniard turning his man before firing the ball into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area.
Costa’s 11th goal in 15 games breathed new life into a Chelsea side which had until that point looked unlikely to find a way past the PSG defense.
The Spaniard went close again on the stroke of halftime when his fierce drive was only parried by Kevin Trapp, the PSG goalkeeper, with a defender clearing the ball before Eden Hazard could pounce.
Chelsea, 10th in the Premier League and unbeaten in 12 league games under interim manager Guus Hiddink, continued to move forward after the interval.
But it was dealt a blow on the hour mark when Costa, who had been in fine form, was forced to limp out of the action with a groin injury.
Deprived of its star striker, Chelsea persevered and Trapp produced a fine save to deny Willian’s fierce drive before palming Hazard’s effort away to safety.
It was to prove the turning point of the contest as just minutes later PSG struck the fatal blow.
Di Maria, who had caused Chelsea problems throughout the contest, played a delightful one-two with Thiago Motta before crossing to the far post where Ibrahimovic applied the finishing touch to send his side into the last eight.
“We did a good game, very stable,” Ibrahimovic told BT Sport. “We played with lots of patient possession and when we had a chance to strike we scored two goals. We had enough to win the game.
“Overall we played the way we wanted to. It was not easy, you have to watch out. Chelsea’s front four are able to do anything.
“We are doing good things, where we end up we don’t know. We are not satisfied yet.”
