15 Mar 2012

Blues win extra time thriller to reach Champions League quarters

12:57 pm on 15 March 2012

Chelsea has beaten Napoli 4-1 in the second leg of their last 16 Champions League football tie in London to reach the quarter-finals 5-4 on aggregate.

The win means Chelsea are the last remaining English Premier League side still in Europe's elite competition.

Didier Drogba drilled home a bullet header on the 28-minute mark, then Chelsea skipper John Terry added another just after the break - and the Blues were on track for the quarters.

But a lethal strike from outside the 18 yard box from Napoli's Gokhan Inler gave Chelsea keeper Petr Cech no chance and put the Italians back in the driver's seat at 4-3 with their own away goal.

However a penalty was awarded to Chelsea and Frank Lampard scored from the spot to make it 4-4 on aggregate, sending the tie to extra time.

Substitute Fernando Torres failed to hit an open net in extra time but the winner for Chelsea came from an unlikely source - defender Branislav Ivanovic scoring in the 105th minute after Drogba again showed his class, providing the perfect cutback for Ivanovic to send Chelsea through.

In Spain, the nine-time champions Real Madrid booked their place in the quarter-finals after a 4-1 win over CSKA Moscow at the Bernabeu gave them a 5-2 aggregate success.

Goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo and substitute Karim Benzema put Jose Mourinho's side in control of the tie, with Ronaldo adding a second goal in injury time after Zoran Tosic had replied for the visitors.

Madrid's progress means that Mourinho remains on course to become the first coach to win the tournament with three different sides, after his earlier successes with Porto and Inter Milan.

The draw for the quarters takes place Friday in Nyon with Chelsea and Real joining Barcelona, AC Milan, APOEL Nicosia, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Olympique Marseille.