PARIS — Like it or not, Paris Saint-Germain are still the team to beat in the Champions League. Why? The reigning champions can reach levels that the rest can only dream of, and PSG simply blew Chelsea away when they slipped through the gears.

This has been a season of inconsistency and ups-and-downs for PSG, but the side that won the Champions League in such devastating form last season has apparently been lying in wait at Parc des Princes, ready to reawaken. And that moment came as this round-of-16 first-leg tie approached its final fifteen minutes in Paris.

Chelsea had fought back twice to make it 2-2 on the night and the Premier League side threatened to turn the game on its head and take the lead ahead of next Tuesday’s second-leg at Stamford Bridge. But then it happened.

A mistake by goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen — surprisingly selected ahead of first-choice Robert Sánchez — gifted the ball to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and it ended up with Vitinha, who lofted the ball over Jorgensen to make it 3-2. For Chelsea, it marked their third error leading to goal in the Champions League this season — only on-the-verge-of-relegation Tottenham has more among Premier League teams with six.

From that point onwards, PSG — and especially substitute Kvaratskhelia — were unstoppable. They were ruthless, and a game that was drifting towards a draw — or even a Chelsea win — ended with PSG claiming a 5-2 victory.

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Now, PSG are overwhelming favourites to comfortably reach the quarterfinals. Last season, a similar spark propelled PSG to Champions League glory. In January 2025, PSG fell 2-0 behind at home to Manchester City, who scored twice shortly after the start of the second-half, and the French side were heading out of the competition in the League Phase. But by the end of that game, PSG had won 4-2 and it transformed their season. They never looked back.

Chelsea certainly didn’t help themselves. PSG scored five goals from an expected goals of just 0.87 — that +4.13 goal-above-expected is the second highest in a Champions League knockout match in 15 years. The error that allowed PSG to score the go-ahead goal was a big culprit.

But in the end, Chelsea were the victims of another PSG surge, and it was the home side’s breathless performance in the final 15 minutes that will send put the rest of Europe on notice.

“The last 15-20 minutes were crazy, but that’s on me,” Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior said. “We need to better when setbacks happen, be calm and collected, and that didn’t happen.

“It’s a painful one because we were in the tie for 75 minutes. We have shot ourselves in the foot, made the tie very difficult now and the fifth goal is the painful one.”

PSG simply have incredible attacking talent and it all clicked against Chelsea, starting with Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé‘s first-half goals — Dembele’s counter-attack goal was a stunning example of the pace PSG possess.

Chelsea were able to expose PSG’s defensive frailties, equalising twice through Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernández, but Enrique’s forwards are so potent that they are able to make up for the lapses at the back that have affected the team all season.

Will those issues cost them a back-to-back Champions League title? That’s the risk, especially after the inexplicable decision to offload Gianluigi Donnarumma to City in the summer following the signing of Lucas Chevalier.

Chevalier has had a difficult first season in Paris and he was on the bench again, overlooked in favour of the inconsistent Matvey Safonov, who should have saved Gusto’s goal.

Perhaps PSG can ride it out all the way to another final simply because they have so much firepower upfront, but they will have to repeat the form that overran Chelsea to ensure that their defensive problems don’t prove to be their downfall.

If Kvaratskhelia can continue to play as he did in the final 15 minutes, PSG will be too strong for every other team left in the competition.

The Georgia winger made it 4-2 with a powerful curling shot from 20 yards on 86 minutes and then put the game seemingly beyond Chelsea’s reach with another, deep into stoppage time.

But even before he started scoring, the former Napoli player destroyed Chelsea’s right flank and it was clear that he was burning with determination to make a point to Enrique for starting him on the bench in the first place.

When Kvaratskhelia hit PSG’s fifth, the Chelsea players slumped to the ground like a boxer that had taken too many blows.

“I think we showed today we are capable of everything,” Kvaratskhelia said. “We just have to continue like this. We conceded two goals and we can see the mistakes we made, but we are happy with a three goal victory. We are still PSG.”

Chelsea still have 90 minutes to turn the tie around next week, but they will know that PSG are more likely to pick them off on the counter-attack whenever they attempt to find the three goals needed to wipe out their deficit.

This was a brutal lesson for Chelsea. They looked like a team that could compete for 70 minutes, but then they encountered the European champions at the top of their game.

That PSG were able to just turn it on and dismantle a Premier League side as strong as Chelsea — a team that was able to beat PSG in the FIFA Club World Cup final last summer — underlined the power and quality that Enrique has at his disposal.

Yes, it has been difficult season for PSG, but they have shown their best again and nobody can live with them like this.

Team USA can breathe a sigh of relief, and they can thank Team Italy, the squad that put their World Baseball Classic hopes in limbo, after their win over Team Mexico on Tuesday night. 

With Italy’s 9-1 victory at Daikin Park, they have won Pool B with a perfect 4-0 record and earned a spot in the WBC quarterfinals. 

But Italy also ensured that Team USA’s run in the tournament continues despite handing the star-studded group a shocking 8-6 defeat on Monday night. 

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Team USA knew going into this game they would be big fans of Italy, one of the more surprising teams of the tournament thus far, but a thrill to watch. They have the fun espresso home run celebration, which has been used a ton including Tuesday night’s game, and a mixture of veterans and top prospects who have been giving their pool fits on the field. 

However, Vinnie Pasquantino, the team’s captain who stars for the Kansas City Royals, came into this contest without a single hit through three games. Luckily for Italy – and indirectly the U.S. – his first three hits of the tournament were difference makers. 

Pasquantino belted three solo home runs in the win, marking the first time in WBC history that a player went yard three times in a single game. 

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He got Team Italy on the board first in the top of the second, hitting a 342-foot blast to right field. Then, in the top of the sixth inning, he hit a towering shot that stayed fair down the right field line to take a free trip around the bases again. 

As he stepped to the plate in the top of the eighth inning, Pasquantino, already two espresso shots deep after his first two longballs, got just enough to get it over the right-field fence one last time. 

Jon Berti of the Italy reacts after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against Mexico during the 2026 World Baseball Classic – Pool B at Daikin Park on March 11, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Houston Astros/Getty Images)

But, just like the other three games, there wasn’t only one Italy hitter showcasing his power. Jon Berti, who has had a great tournament thus far, made use of the Crawford boxes in left field, hitting one just far enough in the top of the fourth inning to extend Italy’s lead to 2-0. 

Meanwhile, Mexico couldn’t get the bats going against veteran hurler Aaron Nola, the reliable Philadelphia Phillies starter who had his patented knuckle-curve working in Houston. He tossed five innings, allowing just four hits while striking out five over 69 pitches. 

The game started to get away from Mexico, too, in the top of the fifth inning, when nine-hitter Dante Nori dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt that scored Pasquantino’s Royals teammate, Jac Caglianone, to make it a 3-0 game. Then, Miami Marlins outfielder Jakob Marsee came in clutch with a two-out, bases-loaded single that scored two runners before he was picked off at first base to end the inning. 

With a 7-0 lead, Mexico, facing desperation, saw some offensive life in the bottom of the seventh with bases loaded and no outs. But after Alek Thomas’ groundout to first, and Rowdy Tellez hitting a liner right at Pasquantino for the second out, Jarren Duran struck out as they were only able to get one run out of a potentially game-changing situation. 

Vinnie Pasquantino of Italy runs the bases after hitting a home run in the sixth inning against Mexico during the 2026 World Baseball Classic between Italy and Mexico at Daikin Park on March 11, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)

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Pasquantino’s third home run flipped momentum right back to Team Italy, and they rode it into the final frame where they sealed victory. 

As Italy soars into the quarterfinals, Mexico is eliminated as their players will head back to their respective big league camps to finish out spring training.

Team USA’s quarterfinal matchup will be against Team Canada, the winners of Pool A, at 8 p.m. ET in Daikin Park on March 13. 

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Club América announced that Mexico national team goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón suffered an Achilles tear during Tuesday’s Concacaf Champions Cup win over the Philadelphia Union. The non-contact injury requires surgery and will rule him out of the World Cup.

“The medical tests performed on Luis Ángel Malagón show a rupture of the Achilles tendon,” revealed the Liga MX team on Wednesday. “Our goalkeeper will undergo surgical treatment. His recovery time will be determined by his progress.”

Malagón hit the ground in pain during the first half of the 1-0 win over the Union after sustaining a non-contact injury to his left foot. He was forced off the field on a stretcher and replaced in the 42nd minute by backup Rodolfo Cota.

The Club América star had been a fixture in Javier Aguirre’s Mexico squads, and he had emerged as a candidate to start in goal for the national team at the 2026 World Cup.

“I feel hurt, sad, and with my soul in pieces. Trying to make sense of it all and asking, ‘Why?'” the 29-year-old keeper wrote on Instagram just hours after suffering the injury.

“There are moments in life that are hard to understand, especially when you have always walked a straight line and acted in good faith. Today, with all the pain in my heart, I want to thank everyone and my teammates for their kind words and prayers,” Malagón added.

With Malagón out, Chivas goalkeeper Raúl “Tala” Rangel appears to have a slight lead for Mexico’s No. 1 spot in the World Cup. Santos Laguna‘s Carlos Acevedo and 40-year-old legend Guillermo Ochoa are also options to start in goal for ‘El Tri’ at the tournament.

As for Club América, Cota is now set to be the new starter for the Mexico City side, which will host Mazatlan at home in Liga MX play this Sunday, and then host the Union on March 18 in the second leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 series.