PARIS -- Chelsea were never going to live or die by their latest appearance at Parc des Princes, but it was still an evening for mixed feelings. From one angle, a spirited and resourceful effort from a depleted side had kept them firmly in this tie; from another, they were finally picked off after weathering heavy pressure from superior opponents and it will require their best performance of the past year in the second leg to keep alive their hopes of an unlikely tilt at the Champions League.
A modicum of the resilience shown here, coupled with the return of key players when the teams resume in three weeks' time, would certainly give them a chance.