PSG vs. Chelsea: Liam Rosenior bidding for rare Champions League feat achieved by just one manager

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior is bidding to achieve a Champions League feat that last recorded in 2011.

The Blues are in France for the first leg of their last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.

Despite their success over PSG in July's Club World Cup final, Chelsea will be walking out at a stadium where they have failed to win on their last three visits.

With the Ligue 1 giants also the defending champions of the competition, Chelsea are the clear underdogs versus Luis Enrique's team.

If Chelsea do upset the odds and get the better of PSG on Wednesday, Rosenior would do something that has only been achieved once in Champions League history.

© Imago / Antonio Balasco

What Champions League feat can Rosenior achieve?

In the last 15 instances where a manager has been participating in his first-ever Champions League knockout tie against the defending champions, just one win has been posted.

That occurred when Ralf Rangnick, then manager of Schalke 04, recorded a 5-2 victory over Inter Milan in the first leg of their 2010-11 quarter-final.

Nine of the other 15 games have ended in defeat for the managers in question, a statistic that does not bode well for Rosenior.

Furthermore, PSG prevailed from all three of their knockout ties against Premier League opposition in 2024-25, beating Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal respectively.

However, it should be noted that Chelsea are currently on a six-match winning streak against French opposition, albeit all of those games played since 2016 being against Lille or Rennes.

© Iconsport

PSG, Chelsea to end 14-year Champions League streak?

Ahead of this stage of the competition, the average age for PSG's and Chelsea's starting lineups has been 24.

Should both first XIs have an average age of below 25 on Wednesday night, it would mark the first Champions League knockout game where that has occurred since a fixture between Bayern Munich and Basel in 2012.

The subject of young squads was addressed in Rosenior's press conference on Tuesday, the Englishman making a claim that will be music to the ears of Chelsea's owners.