COMMENT: When he reflects on last night's game, Jose Mourinho is sure to have admiration for PSG captain Thiago Silva.
After ref Bjorn Kuipers blew fulltime at the end of 120 minutes of a spiteful, physical game, which exploded several times, it was David Luiz who was swamped by PSG players.
And why not? It was a great story, rejected by Chelsea, mocked by English football, here was the Brazilian back on old turf, producing one of the greatest headers we've seen at Stamford Bridge to help his team dump his old employers out of the competition.
But Thiago Silva will surely win the admiration of Mourinho most. He was tested - to the limit - both physically and mentally last night and finished a winner.
That handball was as soft as you'll see. The Brazilian's effort to challenge Kurt Zouma had all the marks of a player drained from going 96 minutes with perhaps the toughest centre-forward in the game today.
When Eden Hazard rolled his penalty past a fooled Salvatore Sirigu, it looked like Thiago Silva had blown it for PSG.
After his summer of hell, leading Brazil at a World Cup where they were ultimately humiliated, here he was, in this season's biggest game, and he'd just blown it.
However, instead of hiding, the Brazilian somehow dug deep to drive his teammates on.
With seven minutes left on the clock, he rose highest and powered a header to Thibaut Courtois' right. He surely thought it was in, but the Belgian produced a save of world class proportions, throwing a strong right hand at the ball and turning the Brazilian's effort around the post.
There must have been doubts creeping into Thiago's mind now. It just wasn't going to happen. PSG will be eliminated due to his loose aerial challenge. After Brazil, here we go again. But the captain didn't walk away, or swap positions. He stayed put and when that corner came in up he rose and looped his header over Courtois for PSG's equaliser.
In the space of 18 minutes he'd gone from the depths of despair to utter ecstasy.
That's what this game offers us. No promises, no guarantees. But the opportunity - if you keep showing up.
Thiago Silva had the stones to keep going to the end. A show of courage that was rewarded and surely admired by Mourinho and those senior Chelsea players built of the same stuff.
