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Wednesday 2 April 2014

Chelsea v PSG: While all eyes are on Ibrahimovic, beware these danger men In the build-up to tonight’s Champions League quarter final between Chelseaand PSG – which is live on talkSPORT– much of the focus has naturally fallen on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and how the Blues can limit his influence on the game. While it is true that the Swede is PSG’s inspirational talisman, the mega-rich French side have plenty of weapons at their disposal, and in particular, two players that Chelsea would be foolish to ignore. talkSPORT takes a look at Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, who have history with the Blues… Back in the 2011/12 season, Chelsea squared up with a Napoliside featuring Cavani and Lavezzi at San Paolo in the Champions League, and the pair certainly enjoyed the occasion. Petr Cech was called into action early on to deny both Cavani and Lavezzi in the box, but the goalkeeper’s heroics wouldn’t keep the home team quiet for long. The Argentine forward bagged his side’s first goal in the 38th minute, before Cavani got the better of Branislav Ivanovic and scored a goal of his own just before half-time. Lavezzi then went on to double his tally in the 66th minute after his Uruguayan team mate robbed a lackadaisical David Luiz of the ball and fed him through. At least two of the players that lined up at the back for Chelsea that night – Gary Cahilland Branislav Ivanovic – are likely to face Lavezzi and Cavani once more in Paris. While it is said that Cavani isn’t quite having the season he had hoped for in Paris, by most standards his numbers are pretty impressive. With 21 goals in all competitions so far, the Uruguayan has found the back of the net in four Champions League games – twice against Olympiakos, and once against both Benficaand Anderlecht – so he hasn’t struggled for form in Europe’s top competition. Excellent in the air, good with his feet and with plenty of pace, there's a reason PSG paid a fortune for him last summer. Ezequiel Lavezzi isn’t as prolific as Cavani and never has been, but he is just as dangerous in different ways. Despite that, Lavezzi still has nine goals in all competitions in 2013/14, and scored in PSG’s last Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen. Last season he was particularly impressive for PSG in the Champions League, scoring both home and away in their knockout stage clash with Valencia, and he proved a constant thorn in the side for Barcelona during the quarter-finals. With pace, technical ability, strength and finishing, Chelsea’s defenders can’t afford to switch off with the Argentine around. If the Blues choose to place most of their focus on cutting out Ibrahimovic’s influence then it will suit Lavezzi and Cavani perfectly. When the big Swede isn’t capable of scoring he’s still quite happy to act as a playmaker, and could prove just as deadly dropping deep to supply the former Napoli duo as he would in front of goal himself. It will be fascinating to see if the Blues place too much emphasis on Zlatan instead of tackling the entirety of PSG’s front three, though that seems like the kind of trap Jose Mourinhoisn’t likely to fall into, given his experience in this competition. Will Chelsea get the job done in Paris? Let us know by leaving a comment below...


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