PSG Hold On To Advance Past Valencia

PSG players celebrate after the match
AP Photo/Thibault Camus

03/06/2013 Paris, France

Paris Saint-Germaine took a calculated risk with an ultra-defensive performance, but it paid off in the end as they advanced past a quality Valencia side with a 1-1 draw at the Parc de Princes on Wednesday.

Without two of their three most important players in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Verratti, Carlo Ancelotti elected to sit in and hope that a compact 4-4-2 would do enough to retain the advantage they earned from a 2-1 victory in Spain 3 weeks ago.

Fortunately, their third most important player, Brazilian centerback and captain Thiago Silva, returned from injury to help lead the Parisians to their first quarter-final appearance for 18 years.

Brazilian forward Jonas Gonçalves gave Valencia some hope of a comeback when he scored the opener on a long distance shot inn the 55th minute.

However, that was all Los Che would manage, and Ezequiel Lavezzi ensured their elimination when he kneed in an equalizing goal past Vicente Guaita 10 minutes later.

Goals: Jonas 55, Lavezzi 66

Paris Saint-Germain: Salvatore Sirigu, Maxwell, Alex, Christophe Jallet (Gregory Van der Wiel, 27), Thiago Silva, Blaise Matuidi, Clément Chantôme, Javier Pastore, Thiago Motta (Kevin Gameiro, 58), Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lucas Moura (Mamadou Sakho, 83)

Valencia: Vicente Guaita, Víctor Ruiz, Antonio Barragán, Jeremy Mathieu, Aly Cissokho, Jonas (Nelson Valdez, 76), Daniel Parejo, Sofiane Feghouli (Pablo Piatti, 63), David Albelda (Éver Banega, 45), Tino Costa, Roberto Soldado

The Soccer Daily