Chelsea survived a nervous finale against 10-man Benfica to earn a 2-1 win in the Champions League quarter-final second leg and set up a last-four showdown with holders Barcelona.
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Roberto Di Matteo's side were firm favourites to reach the semi-finals after a 1-0 first-leg win in Lisbon, but they were made to sweat before clinching a 3-1 aggregate success at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
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Frank Lampard's first half penalty and a red card for Benfica captain Maxi Pereira just before the break should have put Chelsea firmly in control.
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But this was a far from convincing performance from the Blues and Javi Garcia's late header made for a few anxious moments before Raul Meireles sealed the victory in stoppage time.
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"It was a tough game and having won 1-0 away it presented us with a bit of a conundrum," said Lampard, who was scoring his 22nd Champions League goal.
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Frank Lampard scores a penalty against Benfica in their CL game. Photo: AFP
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"It is a relief to get through as they're a good side and deserve respect.
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"We didn't want to be too gung ho."
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Chelsea can now look further to another grudge match with old rivals Barca, who claimed a controversial victory over the Blues at the semi-final stage of Europe's elite club competition in 2009.
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That was the most recent in a long line of explosive encounters between the two clubs and Chelsea's sixth semi-final appearance in the last nine years looks certain to reignite the feud.
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However, Di Matteo's men will need to improve on some wasteful finishing and careless defending here if they are to stun Barca and book a place in the final in Munich.
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"You have to respect Barcelona because they are the best side in the world," said Lampard.
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"They will obviously start as favourites but we have a lot of self belief and we believe we can beat them."
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Benfica boss Jorge Jesus added: "We've been the better team in both legs and I'm very proud of my players.
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"We played with 10 men for the best part of an hour and made Chelsea look ordinary. We were penalised by the referee, unjustly I feel."
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Salomon Kalou's late winner last week had put Chelsea in charge and they received a further boost as injuries to Benfica's first-choice centre-halves Jardel and Luisao forced Jesus to deploy midfielder Garcia as a makeshift defender.
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Yet Di Matteo had warned Chelsea to guard against complacency as the Portuguese team had scored in all of their European away matches this season.
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Chelsea had the ball in the net when Juan Mata fired low past Artur, but the Spaniard's strike was correctly ruled out for offside.
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Benfica had been warned but their under-strength defence was creaking and Ashley Cole took full advantage in the 21st minute.
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Cole made a perfectly timed run into the penalty area and, although his first touch was a little heavy, the left-back's surge panicked Garcia into a crude block that sent him crashing to the turf.
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Referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot and Lampard, making his 550th Chelsea appearance, stepped up to drill the penalty under Artur's dive.
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Benfica's hopes of a miraculous comeback suffered a hammer blow when Pereira, already booked for dissent following the penalty, earned a second yellow card for a studs-up lunge on John Obi Mikel in the 40th minute.
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Benfica needed an early goal in the second half to have any chance and they almost got it when Oscar Cardozo's curling effort brought a brilliant stop from Cech.
Di Matteo's team should have been further ahead when Ramires, producing an unwanted candidate for miss of the season, somehow failed to convert Kalou's cross-shot from barely two yards out.
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Torres and Mata had chances to kill off Benfica but couldn't finish, yet there was a moment of concern for the hosts as skipper Terry was forced off.
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Terry's departure unhinged Chelsea's defence and substitute Yannick Djalo twice went close with a shot and then a header.
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When Kalou was denied by Artur it seemed of little consequence, but Garcia set up a tense finale when he rose unmarked to glance a close-range header past Cech from an 85th minute corner.
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Chelsea's nerves were showing now, but substitute Meireles finally ended Benfica's spirited show when he broke away and lashed past Artur.
