Chelsea take long road to Moscow

Mourinho departure
That impression was only magnified when inspirational manager José Mourinho left two days later. The fans were stunned and the press coverage unrelenting, not least when Avram Grant stepped out of the shadows to take over, but since then the Israeli has slowly but surely hauled the team back into the domestic and European limelight. Reasons for optimism began to appear very quickly, in fact, with Grant's very first UEFA Champions League outing producing an impressive 2-1 win at Valencia CF.

Drogba goals
Didier Drogba struck the decider in that match, and the powerful Ivorian scored again as Chelsea followed up by defeating FC Schalke 04 2-0 at home. The German side were then held to a goalless draw in Gelsenkirchen, allowing Grant's men to wrap up qualification with a satisfying 4-0 triumph away to Rosenborg in Trondheim, where Drogba helped himself to two goals. Chelsea's final Group B outing ended 0-0 with Valencia, guaranteeing them the strongest defensive record of the opening phase with just two goals conceded.

Sole defeat
Still few were betting on the club reaching Moscow, however, and their 3-0 aggregate win against Greek champions Olympiacos CFP in the first knockout round did little to change that. The quarter-finals provided a stiffer test and also what proved to be the team's only loss en route to Moscow as they succumbed 2-1 at Fenerbahçe SK, but an early Michael Ballack header calmed nerves in the second leg before Frank Lampard added another to confirm Chelsea's progress. That set up the club's fourth semi-final appearance in the last five seasons and their third against Liverpool FC, leaving the players desperate to end their losing streak against their Merseyside rivals.

Extra-time drama
The Anfield noise factor had seemed to swing previous encounters with the Reds, and Chelsea were suffering again when Dirk Kuyt scored 43 minutes into the opening leg. John Arne Riise's own goal deep into added time turned the tie on its head, though, giving the Blues the advantage going into the return game. They looked set to drive it home as Drogba gave Chelsea a first-half lead only for Fernando Torres to take the tie into extra time. There, a penalty from Lampard – less than a week after the death of his mother – and a sixth goal of the campaign for Drogba put the home side in command and, although Ryan Babel made it 3-2 late on, Chelsea had done enough to reach their first UEFA Champions League showpiece.