By David Lee Wheatley
Jose Mourinho sprang a surprise in his team selection by choosing winger-cum-forward Andre Schurrle as a lone striker at the Parc des Princes, as his Chelsea side travelled to Paris looking for a vital away goal to take back to Stamford Bridge.
Hosts PSG began the game with gusto and their early pressure told when Argentine live-wire Ezequiel Lavezzi pounced on a weak defensive header by Chelsea captain John Terry to send a half-volley into the roof of the net in only the fourth minute. It required fantastic technique from the former Napoli man to chest the ball down and drag it from slightly behind him to then finish sweetly past Petr Cech.
Ramires received a cheap yellow card after 12 minutes when he fouled the goalscorer Lavezzi, who made the most of a poor challenge by rolling over-and-over in order to catch the referee's eye. Unfortunately for the feisty midfielder, the booking means he will miss the return leg in London next week.
The Parisians desire to extend their lead showed no sign of abating with a great run along the left-hand side of the penalty area from danger-man Lavezzi, only for his low shot to harmlessly hit the side-netting.
However, Thiago Silva threw all of the home side's good work out of the window when felling international team-mate Oscar in the box to give away a penalty in the 26th minute. Former Lille star Eden Hazard, marked out as the player to watch from the very start by the opposition defence, slotted the ball away into the bottom left of the goal with great aplomb to level matters.
Chelsea visibly grew in confidence following Hazard's strike and PSG were panicking in possession, thus giving the visitors abundant opportunities to attack.
Belgian Hazard was becoming more effective on the left of Chelsea's forward line, culminating in a fabulous volley which beat keeper Sirigu all ends up, but bounced back out off the far post to safety. It was oh-so-unlucky for the Blues, as they strove desperately to get their noses in front.
With seconds left in the first-half, Cavani tangled with Cahill in the box only to have his vociferous penalty appeals turned down by the Serbian official. Replays suggested there was in fact a case to answer and the Uruguayan can count himself unfortunate not to have gotten the call in his favour.
There commenced a rather frantic start to the second period and the best chance of the opening exchanges arrived when Lavezzi headed just over from a Matuidi cross on 52 minutes.
Six minutes later, the hard-working Schurrle was replaced by Fernando Torres for the first substitution of the evening. It seemed to upset Chelsea's rhythm somewhat, as PSG began putting their guests under the cosh substantially more than they'd done since Hazard's equaliser.
Just after the hour-mark, PSG broke through the opposition rearguard with an inswinging free-kick which was turned in for an own goal by utility man David Luiz. His running pattern meant he met the ball full-on and was unable to adjust his feet in order to clear the ball to safety.
It was all PSG following their scrappy second, with Ibrahimovic seeing a powerful attempt blocked by John Terry and then Cavani burst through only to find the considerable obstacle of Gary Cahill standing strong in his path.
In the midst of the fast-paced action, both Ibrahimovic and Verratti had to go off the field with injuries which plunges their chances of participation at Stamford Bridge into severe doubt.
Meanwhile, Mourinho's men managed to break out on the counter-attack twice through firstly Eden Hazard and then Torres, only for both moves to break down at the crucial moment. The final pass was missing in each case when Chelsea held the numerical advantage against opponents who'd sent too many players forward into the attacking third.
Javier Pastore came on for 'Man-of-the-Match' Lavezzi, as Paris Saint-Germain made their final change of the night. He jogged off to a standing ovation from the appreciative capacity crowd in attendance.
Edinson Cavani came close to scoring once again in the 84th minute when curling a low effort just past Cech's left-hand upright. A mêlée ensued shortly afterwards between the frustrated striker and David Luiz, which saw PSG head coach Laurent Blanc lead the frizzy-haired Brazilian away from the epicentre of the argument to avoid further tension between the pair. Thanks largely to the actions of World Cup winner Blanc, both got away with a stern word from the sensible referee.
Matters appeared to be drawing to a close at 2-1, with Chelsea seemingly happy to take their away goal and run. However, sub Pastore had other ideas deep into injury-time, as he stepped past the prone Azpilicueta on the right near the byline and then dribbled skilfully beyond Lampard before firing a stinger underneath Cech at his near post for PSG's third.
Going into the highly anticipated return in six days time, Pastore's late intervention hands the French league leaders a comfortable two-goal cushion to fall back on in the face of the expected onslaught to come. The final scoreline also suggests the wealthy Parisian outfit are serious contenders for the trophy this time around after dropping out at the quarter-final stage last season.
As for Chelsea, they're left with a mountain to climb if they're to rekindle faint hopes of achieving Champions' League glory for the second time in three years.
Twitter: @davewh1980
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