Chelsea broke their Liverpool duck to reach their first ever Champions League final after a breathtaking 3-2 victory over The Reds at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Didier Drogba scored the opener for Chelsea in the first-half but Fernando Torres drew Liverpool level four minutes past the hour mark, forcing the game into extra time. A Frank Lampard penalty in the 98th minute restored Chelsea's advantage before Drogba struck again seven minutes later to put the result beyond doubt. Ryan Babel reduced the deficit with four minutes remaining but his strike was not enough for Liverpool as Chelsea won 4-3 on aggregate. The Blues were twice eliminated from Europe's premier competition at the hands of Liverpool at the semi-final stage in 2005 and 2007. Chelsea will meet Manchester United in the final in Moscow on May 21. Chelsea's Domination The hosts dominated the entire first-half. Liverpool were outplayed by a rampant Chelsea side. Chelsea had the first chance after six minutes when Drogba spun around and left his marker powerless to fire a low drive that was blocked by Jose Reina. Liverpool's only threat came four minutes later when a deft pass by Steven Gerrard released Torres in the left side of the penalty area. The Spanish striker failed to atone for wasting easy chances in the first-leg when his effort from a tight angle was saved by Petr Cech, whose challenge was perfectly timed. At the other end, Drogba almost broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when he went one-on-one after latching onto Joe Cole's through pass. But the Ivorian's left-footed low shot was not accurate as it went poorly wide of the post. Liverpool received a major blow when Slovakian defender Martin Skrtel limped off the pitch after sustaining an injury. Sami Hyypia was introduced. The Finnish defender's sluggishness allowed Chelsea to break through Liverpool defense more than once. Chelsea deservedly went ahead in the 33rd minute.
Salomon Kalou controlled a long ball, cut inside Hyypia and fired a powerful drive that was parried by Reina into the path of Drogba. Drogba's fierce drive left the Spanish guardian with no chance to send the home fans into ecstasy. Michael Ballack came close to extending the lead shortly before the break but his superb curling free-kick narrowly missed the target. Torres Equalizes A brilliant reflex save from in-form goalie Cech denied Liverpool from leveling the score three minutes after restart. Gerrard towered at the left to head a long ball across the area. Dirk Kuyt met the headed pass with a right-footed effort but Cech's outstretched legs diverted the ball away. Liverpool upped the tempo in the second period and piled the pressure on Chelsea. The Reds succeeded in grabbing the equalizer in the 64th minute to score their first goal at Stamford Bridge since Rafael Benitez took over in 2004. Yossi Benayoun beat two challengers and raced towards Chelsea's area before providing a neat pass to Torres. The former Atletico Madrid man slightly touched the ball in front of himself before sending a low shot into the bottom corner. Neither side was able to score again as the match went into extra time. Lampard Relief Chelsea thought that they have restored their lead five minutes into the first-half of extra time. A Nicolas Anelka shot hit the body of a defender and went to Michael Essien, who smashed a powerful bullet into the net. However, the linesman raised his flag as he deemed three Chelsea players to be standing in the line of Reina's vision while in an offside position. Chelsea were given the chance to compensate for the invalid goal when Hyypia clumsily brought down Ballack inside the area as the referee pointed to the sp
