Chelsea will face Barcelona after reaching their sixth Champions League semi-final in nine years with victory over Benfica at Stamford Bridge.
Frank Lampard's first-half penalty set the platform for Chelsea's successful defence of the 1-0 lead they established in Lisbon's Stadium of Light.
And even though Chelsea had to survive nervous moments in the last five minutes after Javi Garcia's header put Benfica one goal away from winning the tie, a spectacular strike from substitute Raul Meireles in the dying seconds cut short the comeback.
Chelsea's win sets up a repeat of the controversial 2009 semi-final when only Andres Iniesta's strike deep into stoppage time at Stamford Bridge rescued Barcelona and prevented an all-Premier League meeting with Manchester United in Rome.
The Blues' performance here was hardly of the calibre to strike fear into the hearts of the holders and tournament favourites - indeed, for long spells, the fare was decidedly ordinary - but for caretaker manager Roberto di Matteo and his players this was simply a case of mission accomplished.
Their opponents created chances throughout but simply lacked the cutting edge to capitalise - a task made even more difficult by the first-half dismissal of captain Maxi Pereira after he received a second yellow card for a crude challenge on Jon Obi Mikel.
But while Chelsea may not have touched the heights, their rejuvenation under caretaker manager Di Matteo continues as they now contemplate a place in the last four of the Champions League to go with an FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham at Wembley.
It is a brutal reality, however, that they will have to display infinitely greater quality than this to trouble Pep Guardiola's Catalan superstars as they battle for a place in next month's final in Munich.
The visitors opened with ambition as they chased down the deficit from the first leg in Lisbon, with the gifted Pablo Aimar prominent.
The early momentum was halted, however, by the concession of a needless penalty after 21 minutes when Garcia barged Ashley Cole to the ground as they fought for possession in the area. Keeper Artur touched Lampard's penalty but it carried too much power.
Benfica needed a swift response and almost got it through the dangerous Oscar Cardozo but his shot from the edge of the area was swept off the line by home captain John Terry.
Passages of the first half had been niggly, with referee Damir Skomina producing his yellow card at regular intervals. And it was red for visiting captain Pereira five minutes before the interval when, having been booked for protesting about the penalty, he received a second yellow for an ugly lunge at Mikel.
It made the Portuguese side's job even more arduous - although it took a fine save from Petr Cech to prevent them drawing level moments after the restart, the Blues keeper showing great agility to claw away Cardozo's effort.
Chelsea then regained the ascendancy, with Ramires unable to turn home from almost on the line as Salomon Kalou's shot rolled across the face of goal and the tireless Fernando Torres seeing a shot on the turn deflected just wide.
Artur then saved well from Juan Mata as the Blues looked to press home their advantage, although they suffered a blow when Terry was forced off with a rib injury and replaced by Gary Cahill.
The game was becoming stretched as Benfica's need for a goal became more urgent and seconds after Yannick Djalo's shot was deflected narrowly off target keeper Artur was forced to plunge and block at Kalou's feet as he raced into the area.
In a subdued atmosphere, Kalou failed to take another chance while Benfica' were thwarted once more as Cech blocked with his legs from substitute Nelson Oliveira.
The visitors' threat finally brought a goal, courtesy of Garcia's glancing header in the 85th minute, but just as the prospect of a dramatic turnaround materialised, so it promptly disappeared. Meireles - taunted by the visiting fans for his connection to rivals Porto - settled the tie.
He broke away as Chelsea cleared a Benfica free-kick, keeping his composure to flash a finish past Artur to confirm another meeting with old Champions League adversaries Barcelona.
