Reece James remains confident Chelsea can still turn the tide against Paris Saint-Germain despite suffering a heavy 5-2 defeat in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash.
Chelsea endured a difficult night at Parc des Princes, where PSG surged ahead late in the game to seize control of the tie.
The hosts struck first through Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele, but Chelsea twice responded to level the score.
Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez found the net for the Blues, keeping the contest balanced for much of the evening and giving the visitors hope of returning to London with a manageable result.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically in the final stages. PSG stepped up the pressure and delivered a late flurry of goals to take command of the tie.
Vitinha added another before substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck twice to hand the French champions a commanding advantage heading into the second leg.
Even so, Chelsea captain James remained calm in his post-match assessment, emphasizing that the contest is far from over.
“Looking at the game overall, it was fairly even after 75 minutes and then the final quarter-of-an-hour sort of ran away from us,” said James.
“We didn’t finish the way we wanted to and that’s disappointing.
“Still, the England international believes the nature of the Champions League means a comeback remains possible.
“This is the Champions League and anything can happen. This is the greatest competition in club football and many teams over the years have turned ties around, from bigger deficits than this one facing us.”
Turning his focus to the decisive return leg, James stressed the need for Chelsea to regroup quickly and respond.
“We need to put this one behind us and look forward now. We need to react, the game didn’t go our way here but it’s only half-time.
“There’s lots to learn from this game, we know we’ve made it super difficult for ourselves for the second leg but the game is not done, far from it.”
The Blues skipper also reiterated the importance of resetting mentally ahead of the rematch.
“This is a Champions League tie, the best competition at club level, over two legs and we need to reset and go again.
“I’ll say it again to everyone but especially the Chelsea fans. The game is not finished, it’s only half-time. And we will give our all in the second leg.”
The Blues will now shift their attention to the return leg in London, where they must produce a remarkable comeback to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
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