Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo praised his Chelsea players' strength of character after they secured a place in the Champions League final at the expense of Barcelona.
The Blues somehow overcame John Terry's first-half sending off at the Nou Camp to progress to the Munich finale. Chelsea came into the match boasting a 1-0 first-leg lead but went behind to goals from Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, either side of Terry's sending off for inexplicably kneeing Alexis Sanchez from behind.
However, Ramires clawed a goal back and, after Lionel Messi missed a penalty and hit the post, Fernando Torres came off the bench to wrap up victory late on. And Di Matteo said: "It was an incredible game with all the events that happened. I am very happy and pleased for all the players because they deserved this moment."
He added: "We've had a difficult season and we seem to always get something special out when we need to. I think that's part of the DNA of these players.
"Barcelona are the best team in the world. They are amazing. They have some of the best players in the world as well in their team.
"The way we played and defended and we just showed a lot of desire to reach the final and go through. We had a little bit of luck as well, which you need but I think to win the trophy, you need that."
Chelsea will find out their opponents for the May 19 showpiece on Wednesday when Real Madrid and Bayern Munich meet for their semi-final second leg.
"I am just delighted for the players," Di Matteo added. "They put so much effort into this. We seem to always to find some reserves from somewhere, playing against the odds.
"We obviously weren't the favourites, even after that first leg.
"We had all the difficulties that you could imagine in any football game tonight, particularly with the way Barcelona play, but we still managed to qualify. It's quite incredible."
Source: PA
