• Champions League

One of Chelsea's greatest wins - Terry

ESPNsoccernet staff
March 14, 2012

John Terry claimed Chelsea's dramatic comeback against Napoli to make the last eight of the Champions League is one of the great European nights at Stamford Bridge.

Terry was on the scoresheet as Chelsea provided proof they are a rejuvenated side since Andre Villas-Boas' departure with a third straight win under Roberto Di Matteo.

On a topsy turvy night, Chelsea raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Didier Drogba and Terry before Gokhan Inler edged Napoli ahead on aggregate.

But Frank Lampard's penalty was added to by Branislav Ivanovic's empahtic strike as Chelsea maintained an English interest in the Champions League.

Terry had spoken before the game of how it could become one of Chelsea's great nights. And he said on ITV1 after the 5-4 aggregate triumph: "This could top them all for sure.

"The lads put in a great display, really solid, really resilient, with the firepower going forward. We proved we're a team tonight. That desire, that togetherness. We showed what Chelsea are made of tonight.''

Chelsea sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas between the two matches against Napoli, with Roberto Di Matteo taking over on an interim basis for the rest of the season.

Di Matteo celebrated wildly at the final whistle and can now look forward to a quarter-final tie, possibly against one of European football's biggest names, with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and AC Milan still in the competition.

Frank Lampard has no doubt Chelsea can be competitive against the best in Europe, with the draw for the last eight taking place on Friday. "We're just happy to be in the hat,'' he said.

"We'll enjoy tonight and wait and see. If we play with that ability and desire we can take on anybody.''

Lampard saluted Ivanovic for his thunderous winning strike. "He finished it unbelievably, like a striker really,'' Lampard said. "He deserved that, he was fantastic tonight and was a symbol of the determination we showed the way he played.

"It was important we showed a desire and spirit to keep ourselves in the competition. It's been a difficult season but a performance like that tonight can change things for us so it's important we go on from here.''

Di Matteo added: "It was a fantastic game, to watch as well. We knew it would take a lot to go through, the performance of the whole team tonight was outstanding.''

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