Defiant Artur retaining belief in Benfica

SL Benfica goalkeeper Artur has warned Chelsea FC that his side "can get a different result" in London next Wednesday after a 1-0 home loss left their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-finals hanging in the balance.

The Portuguese outfit had no shortage of attempts on goal at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, but the majority of those were launched from distance as the visitors maintained an impressive hold on proceedings. After keeping their opponents at bay, Chelsea then struck on the break with 15 minutes left as Fernando Torres collected the ball from Ramires, raced past Jardel and crossed for Salomon Kalou to seal Benfica's first European home defeat in 11 outings.

"We all feel a huge sense of emptiness after this match," said Artur. "We had enough chances to score, but that's football and these are the kind of matches in which experience is of huge importance and little details can decide things. Nevertheless, I think we can play another good match in London and we can get a different result."

The 31-year-old was given another scare when Juan Mata latched onto a long Petr Čech clearance, surged past him and hit the woodwork, but otherwise he was rarely called upon. With that in mind, he feels the gap between the two teams is slight.

"We were looking to score throughout the whole match and you could see that Chelsea respected Benfica a lot," he commented. "It's really tough to have ended the match like this, knowing we could have got another result. Chelsea only scored one goal and didn't have many chances."

Second-half substitute Nolito backed up that analysis and suggested Benfica will take strength from the 2-2 group stage draw they picked up at Manchester United FC when they travel to Stamford Bridge. "We'll still get to have our say in this tie," explained the midfielder. "We knew it would be a difficult match tonight, but we were very unlucky. Chelsea scored without really deserving to, but that's football.

"We'll have to work really hard to win the second leg. Benfica showed the reason why we're in the quarter-finals and, despite the loss, we have the quality to turn the tie around. We drew 2-2 with Manchester United, who are also a great team, so I don't see why we can't go to London thinking of winning the game. Nothing is impossible in football and we will fight to win that match."