SHABAB CHOWDHURY

People riding the Paris-Saint Germain wave were far from prepared for what transpired on Sunday night.

It was uncomfortable, and even perhaps upsetting, for all who have been entranced by Luis Enrique’s revived PSG project centred around youth, as Chelsea rocked the world and put an end to the Parisians’ incredible run this season -- a marauding campaign that saw them win every competition they have been in up until the just-concluded inaugural FIFA Club World Cup.

English starboy Cole Palmer came in like an industrial air-conditioner, too cold for comfort for his opponents in the sweltering New Jersey heat at the MetLife Stadium, arresting all PSG’s hopes with two similarly identical left-footed goals before setting one up for Joao Pedro in the first half to essentially put the game to bed.

European champions PSG came into the contest as the best team in the world; as the poster boys of a new era built around a fearless, youthful core that has swept aside all challengers. So what this emphatic victory has provided is not only validation that Chelsea’s very own youth-driven project under American ownership Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital is gathering steam, but also a statement that they are heading in the right direction, following a Conference League triumph.

And what better team to gauge this notion than against PSG. And as for the owners, it could not have come on a better occasion.

Very few, except for Chelsea loyalists and the players themselves, could see past the jamboree surrounding PSG and their football and comprehend that the rationale behind plotting to disarm the most explosive attack in the global event was not an unreasonable one.

Eventually, Chelsea not only defused the opposition’s attack but also initiated a kill-switch to shut down the PSG system.

Head coach Enzo Maresca did a number on Enrique by going long to beat the daunting press, which had bamboozled Real Madrid in the semi-finals. He got rid of his insistence to play out from the back and had goalkeeper Robert Sanchez ping long balls to players wide and higher up on the field. This worked to great advantage, as the Blues could bypass the press as well as the congested midfield compressed by high lines from both sides.

They scored in the 22nd minute after Sanchez floated a ball down the right wing to Malo Gusto, who capitalised on a stumble by left-back Nuno Mendes to run free in behind and set up Palmer. For the second, Levi Colwill looped one behind after a turnover for a sprinting Palmer, who continued his run into the box and froze Vitinha and centre-back Lucas Beraldo with a series of quick fake shots before beating goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma again for a 2–0 advantage in the 30th minute.

To neutralise arguably the best attack in the world at this moment -- comprising Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and likely Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele -- Maresca employed an aggressive counter-press when they lost possession high up the field and dropped into a back five and defended in number when PSG tried to typically cut loose through the dangerous trio.

“The idea was to go man-to-man because if you leave spaces to PSG, they will kill you,” Maresca said. “So we tried to be very aggressive and suffocate them early on.”

Maresca said Chelsea won the match in the first 10 minutes with their intense tempo. The midfield duo of Moises Caicedo and Reece James stood firm behind the first line of press and mopped up anything that squeezed past it. This forced PSG’s midfield to often look sideways. Pass master Vitinha had a hard time initiating attacks from the base of midfield, which in turn flustered the likes of Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves playing higher up.

“The message before the game was to make them understand that we are here to win the game,” Maresca said.

And win they did. It was clinical and had Chelsea’s characteristic imprint written all over it.