Goalscorer Fernando Torres and manager Rafa Benitez were unhappy with the loss to Rubin Kazan in the second leg of the Europa League quarterfinals, even if it put Chelsea through to the semifinals, as Frank Lampard hailed the importance of closing in on another European final.
The Blues did not have it easy against Rubin in the second leg, losing 3-2 on the night, but their 3-1 win in the first leg at Stamford Bridge meant, they go through 5-4 on aggregate.
Torres, who opened the scoring in the second leg, said he was happy with the end result but not the second 90 minutes of the tie in Moscow.
"It was a great pass by Frank Lampard (for my goal), the keeper came out too soon and it was a good chance to score," he said. "We knew at 1-0 they would have to come forward, so the game was in our hands.
"In the end, the result is not what we wanted, but it is good enough to go through."
Benitez concurred with his player, bemoaning his side's second half performance, which saw the Blues leak three goals.
"I'm disappointed because we didn't defend well in the second half but we go through and I'm really pleased with the team and the effort, the players gave everything on the pitch," Benitez said.
"I'm happy with the first half, but we have to improve on the second half, not just the defenders but the whole team.
"We have to deal with crosses better, but you have to give credit to them as well because they have some players with quality.
"You have to analyze the two games in the right context. We had a good result and came here, it's a different environment and there were different things that we had to manage, but we did well.
"It was a pity to lose the game but we went through and that's the main thing. We were able to use players like Ferreira and Ake, who haven't been playing, and give them a chance. We were able to manage the squad and hopefully we will have some fresh legs for Sunday."
Chelsea midfielder Lampard now wants his side to seal their place in another final, which would make the Blues the first team ever to reach the finals of the Champions League and the Europa League in successive seasons.
"People talk (the Europa League) down at different times but when we get out there we're very professional and the closer we get to the final the more special it gets," Lampard said.
"Every game is difficult at the moment but we've got a big squad. Playing every few days has got to be a compliment to us, we've reached the semifinal and now we want to get to the final."
