Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc believes his side can finally be considered one of the best teams in Europe following their Champions League victory over Chelsea.
The French champions outplayed a gritty Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge to draw 2-2 and seal their place in the quarter-finals on away goals, despite playing most of the game with 10 men after Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first-half red card.
PSG came from behind twice as former Chelsea defender David Luiz headed in an 86th-minute equaliser following Gary Cahill’s opener to send the tie to extra-time.
Eden Hazard appeared to have sealed victory for the hosts when he scored from the penalty spot but Thiago Silva’s looping header six minutes from time gave PSG a crucial second away goal.
“PSG really want to join the big boys and I think we did that tonight (Wednesday). I think the match will be a reference for the club for years to come,” Blanc said.
“I know things go quickly. We’ll try to appreciate this victory, this qualification. Then there’ll be the draw for the quarter-finals and the pressure.
“We won’t forget what we’ve done here. We did something good, but we didn’t do something exceptional. We’re in the quarter-finals, so we’ve done something, but you have to keep things in perspective.”
PSG return their attentions to domestic action this weekend with a Ligue 1 trip to Bordeaux on Sunday.
Blanc’s men, currently a point behind league leaders Lyon in second, are 2.02 favourites to win the match while Bordeaux are priced at 3.40 and a draw is 3.22.
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