Di Maria delight as PSG sink Chelsea

Angel Di Maria hailed a potentially season-defining victory over Chelsea as Paris Saint-Germain booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted Di Maria's 67th-minute cross at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to ensure a repeat of the 2-1 triumph that Laurent Blanc's men sealed in the first leg.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa, the focus of much pre-match attention from the PSG camp, excelled and scored in the 27th minute to cancel out Adrien Rabiot's opener, but a hip tendon injury ended the Spain international's night – lending crucial encouragement to the runaway Ligue 1 leaders shortly before Ibrahimovic struck.

"We're very happy. It's a huge joy," Di Maria said, as quoted by UEFA.com.

"The work of one season has come to fruition. We demonstrated our talent.

"We controlled the game and the result is well deserved."

David Luiz was quick to hail a fine team performance, garnished by the individual qualities of the likes of Ibrahimovic and Di Maria.

"I think it was a collective victory because everybody knows to play here against Chelsea is always difficult," said PSG's former Chelsea defender on BT Sport.

"Everybody was using their experience to keep calm. It was a difficult game for us. I think they played very, very well – especially in the first half."

"But we never change our philosophy. We like to play with the ball, with possession to create gaps to score."

Having been spared any more than a gruelling one-hour battle with Costa, Luiz added: "Diego is a fantastic player. Always to play against him is difficult but we played very well and consistently and I am happy with this."

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