Chelsea are theough to the quarterfinals of the Europa Cup thanks to a three-goal slavo from Juan Mata, John Terry and Fernando Torres.
Torres finally came good for the Blues when it matters as he hit the back of the net for the vital third goal as the Londoners beat Steaua Bucharest 3-1 in a thriller at Stanford Bridge.
Trailing 1-0 to the Romanian side from the first leg of this Europa Cup Round of 16, Juan Mata scored in the first half to set up the prospect of a classic European encounter.
Skipper John Terry and Torres struck in the second, with Torres even missing a late penalty to propel the Blues into the quarter-finals, where they will be joined by London rivals Spurs.
But the Blues had to do it the hard way as the visitors equalised on the stroke of half-time to make the score 1-1 and lead the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
But it's was a night for passion, commitment and even a bit of luck and the west Londoners can safely say they had all three.
Good early pressure from the home side with Fernando Torres falling over in the six-yard box, hoping from an earl penalty from the French referee Staphane Lannoy.
To their credit, Steaua did not panic and even started to play with crisp, fast-paced passing.
They almost got their just rewards on 13 minutes, when Mikel lost possession in midfield, allowing Raul Rusescu to race through. The goalscorer from the first leg however was thwarted by a fine save from Petr Cech, who parried the forceful right-footer away for a corner.
A quick free-kick by Juan Mata was well held by Ciprian Tatarusanu, before the ball was quickly played up front where Alexandru Bourceanu took a cole of touches before letting fly from 25 yards. The curler failed to trouble Cech but indicated the visitors determination to score a vital away goal.
With the game see-sawing, the Chelsea faithful actually could not believe their eyes on 22 minutes - a Mikel shot, from distance, that was actually on target. Not only that but it forced a fine diving save from Tatarusanu.
But the Blues forced the breakthrough on 23 minutes through Mata.
Snatching possession in midfield by Luiz, the Brazil centre-back gave the ball to Mata who raced forward. He passed the ball to Ramires before receiving it again and the Spain midfielder poked a right-foot which inched passed Tatarusanu before nicking off the post and into the net to level the tie on aggregate.
Torres tried his luck three minutes later, but a daisy-cutter of a right-footer from inside the Steaua penalty area went wide.
A sensational run from Eden Hazard and a deft one-two with Mata almost secured another goal for the Blues, but the Belgium's venomous shot was expertly blocked by Tatarusanu.
Right on half-time the Blues, under pressure from a succession of corner succumbed to the a near post catastrophe when the home side failed to clear twice before Vlad Chirches poked the ball home at the near post.
That was the last kick of the half.
With Chelsea needing to score two more goals, to progress, it was in fact Steaua who looked the most likely to score again.
But it was the 'Captain, Leader Legend', John Terry who gave the crowd of just 28,817 some hope on 58 minutes when he rose unchallenged to powerfully head home from close range a Mata's left wing free-kick to put the Blues ahead.
The previous lowest European crowd at the Bridge was the 24,973 against Rosenberg in 2007, which resulted in the dismissal of Jose Mourinho.
The visitors, knowing that another goal from them would almost certainly put them through to the quarter-finals almost did just that on the hour when Cech produced a fine save, seeing off a left footed pile-driver from Alexandru Chipclu from just outside the Chelsea penalty area.
With 20 minutes to goal, the Blues scored and yes, it came from the boot of Torres.
Mata brought the so all across the edge of the penalty area. He slotted it to Hazard who touched a deft back heel onto Torres. The Spain forward took one touch and cooly put the ball past Tatarusanu.
That goal, put the Blues 3-2 ahead on aggregate.
With Torres so far forward for what seems like months, he actually did get a nose bleed and had to come to the edge of the pitch to get treatment and a clear shirt.
Oscar could have wrapped the game up with 13 minutes to go when his long, mazy run on the left, saw the Brazil midfield get a shot away, which just inched past the Steaua right upright.
Three minutes, and Jasmine Latovievici tried his luck from 20 yards with a powerful left-foot. Thankfully, Cech was well positioned and got his body well behind the fearsome shot.
With the clock ticking down to four minutes to go, a quick break involving Torres, Mata and Hazard eventually saw Hazard tripped in the penalty area.
Torres elected to take the spot kick and thumped the ball onto the crossbar.
Knowing that one more goal for the visitors would put them through, the Blues did all they could to quell the last-gasp onslaughts.
This they did and can now sit back and wait for tomorrow afternoon's draw to see who they face with the prospect of another European final tantalisingly close.
Teams
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta Terry, David Luiz, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Oscar, Mata, Hazard, Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Lampard, Moses, Ferreira, Cahill, Benayoun, Bertrand.
S Bucharest : Tatarusanu, Szukala, Pintilli, Chipclu, Tanase, Latovievici, Rapa, Chiriches, Rusescu, Bourceanu, Popa
Subs: Stanca, Gardos, Filipino, Prepelita, Tatu, Iancu, Sobrinho
Referee: Staphane Lannoy