Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 9y

Paris Saint-Germain 'confident' for Chelsea Champions League tie

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al Khelaifi believes his team "learned a lot" from facing Chelsea in last season's Champions League and hopes they will put that knowledge to good use in their last-16 tie.

PSG were pipped to a semifinal place by Jose Mourinho's men last season when Demba Ba scored late in the second leg at Stamford Bridge to send the Blues through to the last four on away goals.

Following Monday's knockout stage draw at Uefa headquarters in Nyon, PSG were paired once more with the Premier League leaders.

Al Khelaifi, 41, believes this time round that Laurent Blanc's side can achieve a positive result over the two legs, which will be played on Feb. 17 at the Parc des Princes and in west London on March 11.

"Chelsea is a good draw for us," he said. "I'm very confident. I have faith my coach and my players will show the best face of Paris Saint-Germain. We learned a lot from the experience of last season, and we will work to have a different outcome this year."

Brazilian attacking midfielder Lucas and defender Marquinhos have faith the French champions can ease the pressure on their boss by knocking out Chelsea.

"It'll be a great game against a great team, like in every game in the Champions League. We're going to work hard to win those matches. I believe in my team," Lucas said on the club's official website. "We have to respect Chelsea.

"We are very strong, we can win and we're going to work to do that. In comparison to last year, Chelsea have changed more than us. They are very strong with [Didier] Drogba and [Cesc] Fabregas. It'll be a very interesting game, but we can win it. In any case, I am very motivated, and I'm going to give everything to win." 

Marquinhos added: "At this level, there are only big teams. We're going to train, work hard, to prepare for this two-legged tie. Chelsea have already won the Champions League, and lead the [Premier League]. We'll have to give everything to qualify. Last year's elimination was painful. We're going to use that so that we don't repeat the same mistakes."

Chelsea club secretary David Barnard, meanwhile, told the Blues' official website: "All the teams in the draw are there by merit and PSG are no exception. Obviously they are known to us because we played them in the quarterfinals last year.

"Each match that comes along is a totally different scenario with different parameters. There is the added ingredient of David Luiz playing for PSG, who is fondly remembered by us for the Champions League final [in 2012].

"Jose Mourinho said before the draw he would like to see PSG for our supporters because of the travel arrangements and the logistics."

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