Paris St. Germain defender David Luiz has warned his former club Chelsea that the French champions will go on the offensive at Stamford Bridge.
The two sides have found themselves drawn together in the Champions League knockout round for the third time in as many years, with PSG on top heading in to the second leg after a 2-1 victory at the Parc des Princes.
Luiz, who left London for Paris in the summer of 2014, has never been on the losing side when the two teams have met and is confident that the win last month will help PSG progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.
“It was an important victory,” he told the Uefa website.
“And it was crucial, especially at home in such a difficult match. It’s good to come out of the first match victorious, but nothing has been decided yet. It will be another great game at Stamford Bridge, and I hope we can also come out as winners there.
“London was a city and a club where I was very happy. I had some great moments there, but I am focused on my work, which is to play for PSG.”
Chelsea’s hopes of qualification were aided by a rare John Obi Mikel goal that offered them the lifeline of the away goal. However Luiz warned PSG would go on the offensive to ensure that any advantage Guus Hiddink’s side hold from the first leg is swiftly cancelled out.
“It’s always difficult to play against a highly-rated attack like Chelsea’s. It’s hard not to concede…
“Our game philosophy is to play – to keep possession, create opportunities to score goals. We have to stick to our
philosophy, and we know that for now the result is in our favour.”
Last year’s meeting between the two sides found Luiz at the heart of a controversial yet thrilling tie in which the
defender’s powerful header past Thibaut Courtois secured a further 30 minutes of extra time in which PSG would go on to eliminate Chelsea.
Luiz had vowed not to celebrate yet the crucial nature of his equaliser saw emotion get the better of him as he hurled
himself in front of the PSG fans after his 86th minute strike.
“I had said that I wouldn’t celebrate if I scored, but I couldn’t control my emotions because of the drama of the match.
“To score a goal in the last few minutes to help your team, when we had been a man down since early in the game … It was very important, and it kept us in that match. But my respect, my love for Chelsea, will always be the same.”
PSG’s preparations for Wednesday’s game were somewhat blighted as a side including several reserves were held to a 0-0 draw by Montpellier on Saturday.
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