Moisés Caicedo accepted Chelsea’s best had not been good enough after their Champions League season ended in humiliation at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
The Blues were in need of a spirited showing after the damage done by a 5-2 first-leg defeat at the Parc des Princes but they delivered nothing of the kind, crashing to an 8-2 aggregate defeat amid a mass walk-out by fans at Stamford Bridge.
The tie was over after six minutes when Mamadou Sarr’s error let in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to score, and things got worse when Bradley Barcola crashed in a wonder goal to make it 2-0 inside 15 minutes on the night.
“It was disappointing for everyone,” said Caicedo, who had given the ball away cheaply in midfield in the build-up to the second goal.
“Of course we know PSG are a very tough opponent. We tried to show our best, but they are the current champions of the competition. We did our best but we didn’t get what we wanted.”
Chelsea’s embarrassment was complete when 19-year-old midfielder Senny Mayulu came off the bench to blast home PSG’s third just after the hour mark, triggering a chorus of boos as supporters began to stream out of the ground.
Individual mistakes had been their undoing in the first leg in Paris and proved the case again here, though the manner in which the European champions punished them was particularly brutal.
“We wanted to do better but they are one of the best teams in the world,” Caicedo said. “We are disappointed and want to do better.
“Everyone was ready to fight, but I think we have four competitions playing every two or three days. Sometimes in this scenario, it’s so difficult because they are doing well. We will keep going.”
Liam Rosenior’s team are in a fight to return to the competition next season. They are sixth in the Premier League after winning only one of their last four games and face a difficult assignment at Everton on Saturday.
After a positive start, the former Strasbourg boss is at risk of seeing his tenure turn sour.
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Supporters sang the name of former owner Roman Abramovich — typically a sign that discontent is bubbling at Stamford Bridge — while there was a furious reaction to Rosenior’s decision to take off Cole Palmer and João Pedro with 30 minutes to go.
Chelsea’s night got worse afterwards when Enzo Fernández said in a post-match interview with ESPN Argentina that he does not know whether he will be at the club next season.
“There are eight games, then the World Cup, then we’ll see,” he said.
