Chelsea-Liverpool: Blues Through to Semis After 4-4 Drama At the Bridge

On a dramatic, unforgettable night in West London, Chelsea drew 4-4 at home to Liverpool and therefore won 7-5 on aggregate to set up a UEFA Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona.

After winning 1-3 away at Anfield in the first leg of the quarter-final clash last week, Chelsea were red hot favourites to progress to the semi-finals, with Liverpool at odds of 10/1 to make it through to the last four in the world's most prestigious club competition.

However, after an incredible night of ups and downs on both sides of the equation for the entire 90 minutes, at times it was hard to tell who was going to make it through to the next round.

Liverpool had the first clear opening of the match on 12 minutes, when after skipping past Brazilian centre-back Alex, Fernando Torres hit a strike just over the crossbar.

A minute later the hosts themselves had a good opportunity, when Frank Lampard hit a 30-yard free-kick just wide of Pepe Reina's left-hand post.

However, it was the away side who struck first when Fabio Aurelio gave Liverpool a 0-1 lead in the 19th minute.  

The Brazilian used a bit of improvisation by curling 30-yard free-kick not into the box, but past the wall and into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, completely surprising keeper Petr Cech, who was in readiness of collecting a ball into the box.

Nine minutes later things went from bad to worse for Chelsea. Following another free-kick into the box from Aurelio, Branislav Ivanovic went from hero to zero by holding back Xabi Alonso inside the area, conceding a penalty in the process.

Alonso then stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick, and sent Cech the wrong way, slotting the ball coolly to his left and into the back of the net, giving the visitors a 0-2 lead.

On 35 minutes it became clear the predicament the home side were finding themselves in, with manager Guus Hiddink deciding to take action and replacing the ineffective Salomon Kalou for the Premier League top scorer Nicolas Anelka.

The visitors had a few more chances before the interval, but could not take any of them despite some rather lacklustre and very nervous-looking defending from Chelsea.

Just a minute after the restart, Liverpool had a great chance to get that all important third goal, when Cech was caught in no-mans land and Lucas Leiva pulled the ball back for Aurelio hit on goal, but even with no keeper the full-back couldn't direct his effort on target.

On 51 minutes Chelsea received a massive confidence boost when Didier Drogba brought the score back to 1-2. From a tight angle, the Ivory Coast striker turned goalwards a Nicolas Anelka cross, with Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina allowing the ball to creep in at his front post.

Six minutes later it was evident the home side had been motivated by the Guus Hiddink half-time team talk, as centre-back Alex equalised for the hosts. 

The Brazil shot stopper smashed a terrifyingly powerful 25-yard free-kick past a helpless Reina and into the top left corner of the goal, making the score 2-2.

One Chelsea player who will miss the semi-final first leg at Camp Nou against Barcelona will be Ashley Cole, who was rather harshly booked for a foul on Yossi Benayoun in the 64th minute.

A minute later the hosts should've put the game to bed, as Drogba broke free of Jamie Carragher and the Liverpool defence before pulling the ball back to German midfielder Michael Ballack, who from just outside the box could only put the ball straight into the arms of Reina.

However, it mattered little as Chelsea did make it 3-2 on 76 minutes. After being played through, Drogba took the ball out wide before playing it back across the box to Frank Lampard, with the England midfielder calmly slotting past Reina to give his side the lead for the first time in the match.

The game did take a slight twist however when Lucas pulled the score back to 3-3 in the 80th minute. The Brazilian midfielder hit an ambitious 25-yard effort that deflected past Cech and into the back of the net.

And then an even bigger twist came just a minute later as Liverpool scored again, giving the visitors a 3-4 lead and needing just one goal to make it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt headed home after being left unmarked inside the six yard box, following Spanish winger Albert Riera's ball into the box.

Moments later however, Lampard restored order in the Chelsea ranks by bringing the scores level at 4-4 and 7-5 to the Blues on aggregate.

The midfielder scored what would be the final goal on an incredible night at Stamford Bridge, finding the top corner with a first-time effort after being fed through by French striker Nicolas Anelka.

It now means that Chelsea will play Barcelona in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, after the Catalan giants drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, winning 5-1 on aggregate.

Franck Ribery initially put Bayern ahead on 47 minutes, after latching onto a Zé Roberto pass and planting a shot high into the net and past Barca keeper Victor Valdes.

Although unlike the game in England, any chance of a late comeback was neutralised on 73 minutes, as Seydou Keita finished off a wonderful passing move with a thunderous strike just outside the box.

However, unlike the game in Germany, the game at Stamford Bridge in West London will be a game that forever will live in the memories of football fans all over the world, as Chelsea emerged victorious 7-5 on aggregate in a clash between two of the best teams world football has to offer.