Chelsea absorb PSG's 2nd-half pressure, escape with draw

Welcome to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

An entertaining fixture in which Paris Saint-Germain piled on the pressure in the second half saw Laurent Blanc's side fail to grab a winner as they left the Parc des Princes with a 1-1 versus Chelsea, who will surely feel good going into the second leg of the round-of-16 clash knowing that PSG need to score at least once at Stamford Bridge.

Here's what you need to know:

• Some foreshadowing of Chelsea's second-half tactics took place ahead of the fixture as their team bus was forced to park awkwardly after the driver failed to properly maneuver the vehicle through a narrow entrance.

• PSG generated the majority of the better chances in the first half. Most notably, a powerful header from Blaise Matuidi in the 11th minute forced a diving stop out of Thibaut Courtois, which was immediately followed by another dangerous header courtesy of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
• PSG 0, Chelsea 1: Chelsea made the most of their first clear-cut chance as three of their defenders combined in attack to open the scoring. John Terry found himself with enough space on the left flank to deliver a dangerous cross into the box, where Gary Cahill cleverly flicked the ball onto Branislav Ivanovic, who - as usual - made no mistake using his head.

• PSG 1, Chelsea 1: PSG's pressure early in the second half was rewarded almost instantly as Matuidi looped in a cross from the left flank that Edinson Cavani casually headed into the back of the net. Just look at how many defenders Cavani was surrounded by upon scoring.

• The remainder of the second half saw PSG pile on the pressure but ultimately fail to find a winner. Their best chance came in the 80th minute when Cavani broke into the box and saw his tight-angled shot roll just wide of the far post.
• With many questioning Blanc's decision to install David Luiz in the midfield, the tactic proved to be a success. The trio of Luiz, Matuidi, and Marco Verratti provided PSG with an excellent defensive presence in front of their backline that Chelsea were unable to break down throughout the match.
• The second leg of the series goes on March 11, and it's safe to say that Chelsea hold the edge going into the fixture.