In The Zone: How Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made it a night to remember
Thursday, March 12, 2026
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UEFA Technical Observer Ange Postecoglou reviews Wednesday night's match-winning cameo from Paris winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
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There were 62 minutes on the clock when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia stepped onto the Parc des Princes pitch. The scoreboard read 2-2. By the final whistle, it read 5-2 to Paris and he had two goals and an assist to his name – and the Player of the Match award in his hand.
"Whereas the rest of the game was around team cohesion, fluency and counterattacks, here was an individual who impacted it with his running and his ability to beat people and obviously his finishing as well," said UEFA Technical Observer Ange Postecoglou of the Georgian international's outstanding contribution against round of 16 rivals Chelsea. "He came on with players tiring and the impact he's made has just been incredible."
As will be highlighted in the following analysis, brought to you by FedEx, Kvaratskhelia combined the eye-catching with the efficient, reflecting perfectly the way Paris won a match in which they had an xG of 0.90.
Kvaratskhelia's match-winning cameo
This video features Kvaratskhelia's three goal involvements, starting with his assist for Vitinha's lob over Filip Jørgensen. After Bradley Barcola's interception, Kvaratskhelia could shoot but has the awareness to do the unexpected and supply Vitinha instead.
Clip two shows his sensational strike for 4-2 and it starts with Paris' counterpressing as dark shirts converge on Reece James to recover the ball. When it reaches Kvaratskhelia, he has the option of feeding Senny Mayulu but steps inside, dummies twice and lets fly.
"The timing of his strike, with the backswing, is just unbelievable and it's past Jørgensen before he even dives," said Postecoglou. "It shows the belief he has. He's turned down a really good pass and is saying, 'I'll take the responsibility here, I'm happy to be the main man.' It's just a brilliant piece of football – individual belief backed up with technique."
"No goalkeeper in the world saves it," admitted Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior – and Kvaratskhelia was not finished there.
"It was 3-2, 4-2 and we still wanted to score more goals," he said, and that desire was rewarded with a fifth goal from the final attack – a triumph of quick, clever movement and composure too. "Kang-in Lee does so well because he's got two or three options and he's picked the perfect one," said Postecoglou. "You then see Kvaratskhelia's composure in the box to make sure he got a clean strike and hit the target."
Paris had had only four shots after the 25th minute. All were goals. Who knew efficient could be so exciting?.
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