MX23RW : Saturday, June 1 18:29:34| >> :60:2692:2692:

Chelsea 2-1 Benfica

Chelsea 2-1 Benfica
© PA Photos
Chelsea will face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals following a nervy win over Benfica at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea will face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals following a nervy 2-1 win over Benfica at Stamford Bridge.

The result on the night was enough to see the Blues go through 3-1 on aggregate against their Portuguese opponents.

Despite a bright start from the visitors, it was Chelsea who came closest early on when David Luiz had his fierce shot blocked by Joan Capdevila.

The home side made the breakthrough in the 19th minute when Ashley Cole was brought down by Javi Garcia in the area. Lampard stepped up to see his penalty creep in under the goalkeeper.

Benfica remained a constant threat on the counter attack as Oscar Cardozo saw his 25-yarder fly over.

However, their cause was made more difficult when captain Maxi Pereira was sent off five minutes before half time after he picked up his second yellow card for a malicious-looking tackle on Jon Obi Mikel.

The away team nearly drew themselves level just two minutes after the break, but Cardozo's stinging drive was clawed away by Petr Cech.

Ramires was guilty of an incredible miss soon after as he failed to convert from two yards after Mikel has squared the ball across goal.

Chelsea soon began to gain the momentum as Fernando Torres and Juan Mata both flashed shots narrowly wide.

Although the home team looked to be heading through, Benfica grabbed an away goal with five minutes to play when Garcia headed in from a corner.

Despite a nervous final few minutes, Chelsea's passage into the final four was sealed in injury time thanks to substitute Raul Meireles's strike on the counter attack.

ID:22559: cacheID:22559:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2404:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
David Luiz
Read Next:
Team News: Luiz passed fit to face Benfica
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!