A first-half away goal by Branislav Ivanovic and some fine goalkeeping by Thibaut Courtois put Chelsea in command of their Champions League last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain as Tuesday’s first leg ended 1-1.
Ivanovic headed in on 36 minutes after Gary Cahill had helped the ball into his path to give Chelsea the lead from their first and only chance of the evening at the Parc des Princes.
Edinson Cavani replied with a header of his own in the 54th minute and PSG enjoyed the bulk of the chances but Courtois intervened time and again to keep the Premier League leaders on level terms.
Jose Mourinho’s side will hold the away-goal advantage when the second leg comes around, in London on March 11. PSG will need to score in that game to keep the tie alive.
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That was something Laurent Blanc’s side failed to do when the teams met in the last eight a year ago, allowing Chelsea to go through on away goals despite losing the first leg 3-1 in France.
Seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, Chelsea are a stronger side than they were then, while PSG have been forced to deal with an injury crisis in the build-up to this game.
With Lucas, Thiago Motta and Yohan Cabaye among the players on the sidelines, Blanc opted to start David Luiz in midfield against his former club while Marquinhos lined up in central defence, despite being a doubt ahead of the game.
Chelsea were at full strength but their chief creator, Cesc Fabregas, struggled to make an impact in the match-up against the combative David Luiz.
In a cagey opening, it was the hosts who created what chances there were, with Blaise Matuidi the first to test Courtois, on 11 minutes, with a header from a Cavani cross.
The Belgian goalkeeper was equal to that effort and was called into action again seconds later to keep out a Zlatan Ibrahimovic header from a Matuidi cross.
Ibrahimovic and his fellow forwards were afforded little space in the final third and they had to wait until after the half-hour mark to trouble Courtois again, Cavani seeing his near-post header from Ezequiel Lavezzi’s corner turned behind.
Chelsea seemed happy to soak up the pressure before surprising PSG with a goal nine minutes before the interval thanks to a rare attacking combination between three of their back four, Ivanovic stealing in behind David Luiz to head home after Cahill had flicked on a Terry cross.
However, those defenders hardly covered themselves in glory as PSG drew level nine minutes after the restart, leaving Cavani unmarked to head home his 17th goal of the season — his sixth in the Champions League — from a Matuidi left-wing cross.
Down a goal at home, PSG were aggressive in the second half and Chelsea were again grateful to Courtois as he saved from Ibrahimovic before Lavezzi’s follow-up was blocked just in front of the line.
Courtois, again preferred to Petr Cech between the posts by Mourinho, then got his fingertips to a David Luiz header from a Lavezzi free-kick.
PSG’s unbeaten record at home this season did not appear under threat in the closing stages, but neither could they get the winning goal.
Cavani put a fine chance wide of the far post 10 minutes from time and, when Ibrahimovic got a header on target in stoppage time, that man Courtois was on hand yet again to save Chelsea.
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
