A sweet victory 'up there with the best'

Chelsea goalscorers John Terry and Frank Lampard were elated after helping their side into the quarter-finals of the Champions League last night.

The duo netted in the 4-2 defeat of Barcelona at Stamford Bridge with Eidur Gudjohnsen and Damien Duff also scoring.

And Terry, who headed Chelsea's decisive fourth goal, said: "What a great performance - this win is up there with the best of them.

"We started brilliantly and to go 3-0 up was fantastic - but they came back in it and at half-time it wasn't looking great for us.

"We came out fighting and got our reward tonight.

"But we said 'keep pressing' in a team meeting before hand because they don't like to be pressed - in the second half we pressed again and they didn't like it.

"We've beaten a great team. There's still a long way to go in this competition but the main thing is we are still in it," added Chelsea's inspirational captain.

England team-mate Lampard added: "John has done it loads of times for us this season - it was a great winning goal for us.

"He's such a danger at set-pieces, so brave."

Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho appeared to tangle with officials on the touchline seconds after the final whistle.

But Lampard was unable to give any details of what had happened as he was cavorting around on the pitch with boss Jose Mourinho and his fellow players.

The midfielder added: "I saw it on the big screen - but we were out there celebrating with the fans.

"Barcelona are probably frustrated and disappointed they lost - but we've proved to everyone what we can do tonight."

Given the rancorous preludes to both legs and the bad feeling after the match in the Nou Camp, the conduct of this match came as a relief.

Under referee Pierluigi Collina's stern gaze both teams played hard and kept their complaints to a minimum. Not that they had much time to catch the referee's eye, thanks to the sheer pace of the play.

Not until the 68th minute did Collina need to brandish a yellow card, when Xavi went down under a minimal challenge and lay on the grass complaining.

Ricardo Carvalho's stunning and completely fair tackle on Samuel Eto'o, executed as the Cameroon forward seemed to have escaped him as he raced into the area, was more emblematic of the style of an extraordinary encounter.