Chelsea substitute Demba Ba struck a dramatic late goal to seal a 2-0 home victory over Paris St Germain and a place in the Champions League semi-finals on the away goals rule on Tuesday.
PSG were heading for a first appearance in the last four since 1995 when Ba bundled in a loose ball after 87 minutes to clinch the tie, which ended 3-3 on aggregate.
Chelsea went ahead in a tense end-to-end battle at Stamford Bridge with a superbly-taken goal from substitute Andre Schuerrle after 32 minutes and they also hit the bar twice in two minutes early in the second half.
PSG, who won the first leg 3-1, dominated early on and Edinson Cavani missed two good chances in the closing stages which added to the almost unbearable tension on the night.
Chelsea, despite losing playmaker Eden Hazard to injury after 17 minutes when Schuerrle came on, finished strongly and were worthy winners on another memorable European night in west London.
In the night’s other match, lacklustre Real Madrid edged past Borussia Dortmund 3-2 on aggregate after slumping to a 2-0 defeat on Tuesday to advance to the Champions League semi-finals and stay on track for their tenth crown.
Two first half goals by Marco Reus, both coming from Real mistakes, gave Dortmund a deserved lead as the Spaniards, who had a penalty saved in the 17th minute, were left mesmerised by the Germans’ frantic pace.
Real, with top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo left on the bench due a minor knee injury, saw their 3-0 advantage from the first leg in Madrid almost evaporate in a disastrous first half for them.
Real, who twice lost to Dortmund in Germany in last season’s competition including a 4-1 thrashing in the first leg of their semi-final, briefly recovered in the second half before the Germans, last season’s runners-up, again surged forward, missing half a dozen clear scoring chances and also hitting the post.
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