CHELSEA were beaten 3-2 against Rubin Kazan at the Luzhniki Stadium in the early Europa League quarter-final but progressed 5-4 on aggregate.
Protective mask-hearing Fernando Torres put them in front thanks to this tidy finish on five minutes and Marcano drew the Russians level early in the second half butVictor Moses and Gokdeniz Karadeniz then got their names on the scoresheet.
Chelsea fans will forever associate the Luzhniki with their team’s painful penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League final, although this occasion had a very different feel to it, with the 80,000-capacity venue barely a quarter full.
That queasy feeling will have surfaced again as Rubin’s Ivan Marcano headed in a cross from compatriot Pablo Orbaiz six minutes into the second half. Victor Moses settled Chelsea nerves and restored their lead on the night, playing a one-two with Ramires and then curling a shot into the net from 15 yards.
That goal left the Russians needing to score four times without reply to rescue the tie.
Captain Gokdeniz Karadeniz did pull one back before Bebras Natcho converted a penalty after Cesar Azpilicueta was harshly penalised for a foul on Aleksandr Ryazantsev in the box.
That allowed Rubin to win the game on the night, but Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez was pleased to be in the semi-final draw.
“The scoreline doesn’t matter too much. We did a professional job and I am really pleased with the players,” he told ESPN television.
“Playing on this pitch and in that atmosphere was not easy, but the main thing for us was to do job.”
*Additional reporting - © AFP, 2013
“Tidy”? Try brilliant. If Messi or Ronaldo had shown that touch the English press would be frothing at the mouth.
20 goals, 13 assists…not bad for a “flop”….
The London hacks need to find another chew toy.
Torres even managed to do this with Moses, Mikel, Oscar and the rest of the mediocrity around him (is David Luiz the worst defender in the world?). Imagine what he might have done with Mata on the pitch? In other words, a midfielder who actually passes and knows how.
Hasnt had trouble finding form in European competition oddly enough.
I think David Luiz is not only a class defender, I think he’s an outstanding player in general. Is Oscar rubbish? Do you simply condemn all young players in their first season in the Premier League?
Indeed.
And Mikel has been Chelsea’s most improved player this season. Now that he’s finally getting decent gametime, he’s starting to impress as a defensive midfielder. He still has work to do on ball distribution, but he’s turned into one of the best in the Premiership when it comes to breaking up an attack.