Chelsea fell to a 2-1 loss, with substitute Edinson Cavani netting a late victor, but Mikel insists it was a case of mission accomplished after securing a valuable away goal.
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Chelsea went on to lose the game 2-1 in the Champions League first leg tie, but take a potentially crucial away goal back to Stamford Bridge.
“A defeat is never a good or a nice feeling, but it is a two-leg game and scoring away is always good”. “It hurt a bit because the team was playing decently against a team with capacity to play. But we are still in the race”.
Hiddink said: “We have just two days to recover and it is something to think about in the future as two days of recovery is not enough”. I think we gave it our all tonight and got the win we wanted. Mikel, 28, who is hoping to surpass Nwankwo Kanu’s record of 60 Champions league appearances, gave his club a great chance of into the quarter finals with his away goal last night at Parc de France. “Chelsea scored, so we go to Stamford Bridge eager to score ourselves”.
Courtois made a string of saves to keep Chelsea in contention heading into the second leg, and Spanish winger Pedro nearly spoiled the home celebrations in injury time with a rasping drive into the side netting. They’re a fantastic team and that was very, very tough.
“The players did well, and not just the four defenders”, Hiddink said.
Gary Cahill told BT Sport: “It’s poised now, we know what we have to do and we have done it before at home”.
“I envy a bit the bench of PSG, they have a very strong bench”.
Chelsea face Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday, but Hiddink is still unsure whether or not Terry will be available and said: “Tomorrow (Wednesday) we’ll see”.
“We’re very disappointed losing the second goal. I repeat we could have been more lethal on the counter”, he said.
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The Swede would not have to wait much longer for the opening goal, although he was given a helping hand when his driven free kick deflected off Mikel in the Chelsea wall, leaving Thibaut Courtois helpless.
