It was a game of four outrageous comebacks at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea battled back after twice going behind against a Liverpool side who had their fair share of fightbacks to complete.

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Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool (agg. 7-5)

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg at home, Liverpool knew they had more than a mountain to climb and it looked almost impossible from the onset after talismanic captain, Steven Gerrard failed to recover from his niggle in time to even make the squad.

Chelsea, meanwhile, had their own influential skipper, John Terry missing due to suspension and it would come down to a case of which team would miss their on-field leaders the most.

First Half

Both sides started very tentatively as poor touches and stray passes dominated the opening few minutes. The visitors, predictably, looked the more bullish in attack while the hosts were happy to wait for gaps to appear for them to exploit.

And the first chance fell to Liverpool after 12 minutes when Dirk Kuyt’s through ball found Yossi Benayoun, whose audaciously backheel flick-on released Fernando Torres, but the Spaniard’s left-footed shot looking for the top corner flashed over the crossbar.

Straight to the other end, Lampard drilled in a blistering, swerving low free kick from 30 yards out but it just whistled inches wide of the right post, even though Pepe Reina would have had it covered.

But on 18 minutes, the Reds found themselves back in the tie as they went ahead on the night. Fabio Aurelio swung in a free kick on the right touchline but instead of delivering a cross to his team-mates in the middle, he arrowed in a cleverly disguised shot to Petr Cech’s near post and the Czech shot-stopper, who had drifted out of his line towards the back post, was left flailing for the ball as it trickled into the back of the net.

The Blues failed to respond as the Reds continued to push forward and ten minutes later, they amazingly made it 2-0. And it was yet again another free kick from the right from Aurelio which caused all the mayhem when he floated in a cross to the middle this time and Chelsea’s first leg hero, Branislav Ivanovic wrestled Xabi Alonso to the ground and Spanish referee, Luis Medina Cantalejo did not hesitate in pointing to the spot.

Alonso stepped up and took the penalty himself and smashed it to his left corner with authority, sending Cech the wrong way. The aggregate tie was now levelled at 3-3 but Chelsea still had the away goal advantage.

But the Londoners came to life after the early double shock and a nervous Guus Hiddink made a tactical change after just 35 minutes, taking off the ineffectual Salomon Kalou for Nicolas Anelka. But they were restricted to half chances from free kick deliveries as Didier Drogba, Alex and Ivanovic all had a look-in but failed to really trouble Reina.

A minute before the break, the Merseysiders came agonisingly close twice to turning the tie completely on its head. First, Alonso’s diagonal cross into the box found Dirk Kuyt, but the Dutchman’s looping header was brilliantly slapped away by Cech. The goalkeeper, however, spilled the ensuing cross from Aurelio and that almost led to a goalmouth scramble, but Torres was deemed to have fouled Michael Essien as he desperately lunged at the Ghanaian to try and rob the ball off him.

Second Half

Whatever Hiddink screamed at his charges in the dressing room during the break, it didn’t quite get through as Chelsea looked jittery from at the restart. Lucas latched on to a Benayoun through pass and rounded a hapless Cech to the byline, but without any angle, he knocked it back to Aurelio, whose ambitious first time shot just dipped over the bar at the back post.

But on 50 minutes, Hiddink’s men finally responded as they pulled one back. Anelka drilled in a low cross from the right and Drogba nicked in just ahead of Martin Skrtel to get to slightest of touches to divert it past Reina, but the Spaniard had to be held accountable as he spilled the ball into this own net at his near post.

Five minutes later, the Stamford Bridge faithful were up on their feet again when they thought Drobga had the ball in the back of the net. The Ivory Coast hitman curled in a free kick from 20 yards out but it only rippled the side netting.

Sixty seconds after that, however, it was 2-2. And it was off a free kick from an almost identical range and distance, except, it was Alex who pummelled in an unstoppable piledriver with the outside of his right boot as the ball swerved away from the outstretched hands of Reina into the top of the goal.

A shell-shocked Liverpool tried to react and on 63 minutes, Javier Mascherano unleashed a rocket from 25 yards out but Cech just managed to palm it away at full stretch.

Chelsea should have killed off the contest on 66 minutes, when Drogba ran onto Malouda’s long ball out of defence, shrugged off Carragher down the right flank and squared it to Michael Ballack but the German’s tame first time effort was saved by Reina. But it was indeed game over 15 minutes from time when Lampard stabbed home Drogba’s low cross from close range. Or so one thought.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Benitez’s men sensationally clawed their way back into the game. First, Lucas made it 3-3 on the night when his speculative effort outside the box took a wicked deflection off Essien and wrong-footed Cech. And merely two minutes later, Kuyt set up a tense finale when he easily outjumped a static Carvalho to meet Albert Riera’s cross and nodded a bullet header past the Czech goalkeeper.

On 88 minutes, however, it really would be curtains this time when Anelka’s pull back found Lampard, and the stand-in captain smacked in a first time shot across goal past Reina and the ball pinged into the back of the net off the inside of the post.

There was to be one last drama, though, as David N’Gog’s shot inside the box was headed off the line by Essien with just seconds left in regulation time. And that proved the final piece of action on a thriller night as Chelsea marched to the semi-finals of the Champions League 7-5 on aggregate, where they will now meet Barcelona.

TEAMS

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech – Ivanovic, Alex, Carvalho, Cole – Essien – Kalou (Anelka, 35’), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda – Drogba (Di Santo, 93’)

Unused subs: Hilario, Mikel, Deco, Belletti, Mancienne

Liverpool (4-3-3): Reina – Arbeloa (Babel, 84’), Skrtel, Carragher, Aurelio – Lucas, Mascherano (Riera, 68’), Alonso – Kuyt, Torres (N’Gog, 80’), Benayoun

Unused subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Agger

CHELSEA 3-3 LIVERPOOL

0-1: Liverpool (Aurelio, 18’)

0-2: Liverpool (Alonso, 28’, pen)

1-2: Chelsea (Drogba, 50’)

2-2: Chelsea (Alex, 56’)

3-2: Chelsea (Lampard, 75’)

3-3: Liverpool (Lucas, 80’)

3-4: Liverpool (Kuyt, 82’)

4-4: Chelsea (Lampard, 88’)

YELLOW CARDS

Chelsea: Ivanovic (28’), Cole (64’)

Liverpool: Benayoun (40’), Arbeloa (73’)

KS Leong, Goal.com

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