James - Boly, Lavenette, Kamara (Lucea, 79'), Cordier - Doué, Jangeal (Abo El Nay, 60'), El Idrissi (Mhand, 90') - Ayari, Housni (Domingos, 90'), Nsoki (N'Guessan, 60')
After beating Newcastle (0-2) in their opening match, our Titis took on a Chelsea side already in danger after their narrow defeat to Dinamo Zagreb (1-2) two weeks ago. Halfway through the PLIC group stage, this match had all the ingredients for a great battle between Les Rouge et Bleu, who could take a big step towards qualifying for the quarter-finals, and the Blues, who could not afford any more slip-ups.
Jean-François Vulliez's men therefore started the match determined to come away with all three points. Mathis Jangeal (6') and Ilyes Housni (7') created danger early on, but Max Merrick was alert in goal. The same was true for Martin James, who resisted the pressure (9', 22', 25'). But the biggest threat in the first half came from Ilyes Housni, whose shot just missed the post (30').
After failing to find the breakthrough in the first half, both teams came back from the changing rooms with a more attacking mindset, braving the London cold. This bold approach quickly paid off for our Rouge et Bleu, who finally managed to break the deadlock thanks to a moment of genius from Noah Nsoki, who fired in a crisp shot from outside the box that Max Merrick could only get a fingertip to before watching the ball fly into the net (0-1, 53').
This opening goal for Paris forced Chelsea to leave even more space to push forward, and our Titis were quick to take advantage. After winning the ball back in midfield, Ilyes Housni dribbled forward before beating Axel Disasi at the edge of the box and calmly slotting past the London keeper to give the capital club a two-goal lead (0-2, 66').
With their backs against the wall, Chelsea managed to reduce the deficit in the final quarter of an hour (1-2, 75'). However, hope was short-lived for the home side, who were once again dealt a blow by Ilyes Housni from the kick-off. From Doué's cross, the Rouge et Bleu striker beat Merrick with a diving header, sealing the game (1-3, 76').
Solid until the end, Paris maintained their intensity until the final whistle to keep Chelsea at bay. Les Rouge et Bleu secured a crucial victory and take top spot in Group C thanks to a better goal difference than Dinamo Zagreb.
The U21s will continue their PLIC campaign at Brighton on Sunday 14 December, with kick-off scheduled for 1pm for this final fixture of the year. A win would see the capital club secure a top-two finish, which would mean qualification for the quarter-finals of the competition.