Chelsea relieved to survive Rubin test unscathed

Fernando Torres hailed a result "good enough to go through" after finding the net in a 3-2 loss at FC Rubin Kazan that allowed Chelsea FC to reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals as 5-4 winners on aggregate. Team-mate Paulo Ferreira felt Chelsea "should have played a bit better", while Rubin's Alan Kasaev pointed out that "the outcome of the game could have been different" had Roman Eremenko buried an early chance.

Fernando Torres, Chelsea forward
It was a great pass by Frank Lampard [for my goal]; the keeper came out too soon and it was a good chance to score. We knew at 1-0 they would have to come forward, so the game was in our hands. In the end, the result is not what we wanted, but it is good enough to go through.

Paulo Ferreira, Chelsea defender
We were playing against a good opponent and they did really well, especially in the second half. We did our best and I think over the course of the two legs we deserved to go through.

In the second half, they had nothing to lose and they knew after conceding the second goal that they had to do something. I think we defended too deep and that's why they were able to create more chances and score more goals. Perhaps we should have played a bit better, but in the end I am happy to win and be in the semis.

David Luiz, Chelsea defender
Everyone knew that if we wanted to qualify we needed to score tonight, and we got off to a great start with Fernando scoring a great goal. I am happy we are now in the next round. The guys knew before the game that it would be difficult and after [Rubin] scored the penalty they had a chance. If [José Rondón] had managed to score with that header [on 81 minutes] then it would have been a different game, but it was OK. We won this game and now we want to win the semi-final.

Alan Kasaev, Rubin midfielder
In the first half, we didn't feel under any pressure like we did in the first match, but we created a number of chances. If Roman Eremenko had managed to take his opportunity, then the outcome may have been different. Even after Fernando Torres scored, we tried to attack, but Chelsea are a difficult team to play against. I thought Victor Moses's second goal was crucial as it left us with a mountain to climb. However, José Rondón had a great chance and, if he had taken it, then we would have been right back in the game.

Roman Eremenko, Rubin midfielder
I thought we had two good chances in the first half – for myself and Gökdeniz Karadeniz – but in matches against sides like Chelsea, you can't miss opportunities like these. After the half-time break, we started to take our chances and Iván Marcano's goal gave us a boost.

Fernando Torres is an excellent forward and takes his opportunities well. We are out of the UEFA Europa League, but we go out with our heads held high. We fought to the end and were playing for the whole country. Our supporters were excellent, and a number of our fans made the trip from Kazan to watch us.