Frank Lampard could not equal Bobby Tambling's club goalscoring record, but that did not stop Chelsea from advancing to the final of the Europa League with a 5-2 aggregate win over FC Basel in the semifinals.
Three goals in nine second half minutes ensured the Blues a place in the summit clash at the Amsterdam Arena, where they will meet Benfica, after the Portuguese side defeated Fenerbahce 3-2 on aggregate.
Chelsea were leading 2-1 after the first leg, and won 3-1 in the second leg at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Fernando Torres, Victor Moses and David Luiz, after Mohamed Salah had put Basel in the lead in first half stoppage time.
Lampard nearly got the goal, that he is craving the most, early on, but unfortunately saw his underhit volley come off the post with Basel goalkeeper Yann Somer beaten.
Torres, playing in his favorite tournament for Chelsea, then got in on the act forcing a smart save from Sommer, before Ramires did the same midway through the half.
However, after the scores of chances missed by Chelsea, it was Basel who took the lead right on the stroke of halftime.
Salah has been much talked about, and the playmaker added another feather to his cap by slotting home past Petr Cech, off a nice through ball from Valentin Stocker.
Basel still needed at least another goal to advance, but it only took Chelsea five minutes into the second 45 to equalize.
Lampard created the first goal for his side, after Sommer spilt the midfielder's strike to allow Torres to slot home the rebound.
Moses then latched onto a rebound off a blocked Torres shot to make it 2-1 and 4-2 on aggregate, before Luiz scored the goal of the night with a peach of a curler past Sommer to end all hopes of a Basel comeback.
In the other game, Benfica showed their class to edge past Fenerbahce, who were on a high after their 1-0 first leg win in Istanbul.
The Stadium of Light, however, is Benfica's fortress and getting a positive result proved to be beyond the Turkish side in the end.
Nicolas Gaitan opened the scoring for Benfica in the ninth minute, before former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt levelled things up via the penalty spot.
Oscar Cardozo then scored a double either side of halftime to give the Portuguese side a 3-1 win on the night and a 3-2 aggregate result.
