Salomon Kalou scored an important away goal as Chelsea defeated Benfica 1-0 to take a vital lead in their Champions League quarter-final.
The first half started very slowly but things heated up after the break, Mario Jardel coming close with a free header before Fernando Torres' impressive assist from the right wing opened up space for Kalou to tap home untroubled with 15 minutes to go.
Chelsea, though, found the vital away goal on 75 minutes. Ramires fought hard on the right of midfield, supplying Torres further forward on the wing.
The Spaniard did most of the work, closing in with purpose before feeding Kalou in the middle. With Artur taken out of the picture, the forward needed only to poke home simply to take the lead.
Real Madrid moved closer to a Champions League semi-final spot, after beating APOEL Nicosia 3-0 in their quarter-final in Cyprus on Tuesday.
Three second-half goals - two to Karim Benzema and one to Kaka - gave Jose Mourinho's men a priceless away win at GSP Stadium, which virtually seals their spot in the final four after the first leg.
A diving header from the Frenchman Benzema saw Real break down a resistant APOEL, as he completed an in-swinging cross from substitute Kaka.
A cool side-footed finish from Kaka himself and another easy strike for the former Lyon striker Benzema banished any Cypriot hopes of holding on for a stalemate, as the Spanish side's quality eventually shone through.
With APOEL playing the biggest game in their history, it was no surprise that they came out of the blocks full of energy, and the home side really tried to put Real under extreme pressure early on.
The Spanish giants looked for a fourth goal without success, but they will go into the second leg next Wednesday at Santiago Bernabeu with one foot in the semi-finals.
