Chelsea welcomed Sparta Prague to Stamford Bridge tonight for the second leg of their Europa League last-32 meeting.
The Blues, who were the first Champions League holders to be eliminated at the group stage of the competition this year, held a one-goal advantage from the first fixture in the Czech Republic.
Prague visited London as underdogs, but soon levelled the aggregate scores through David Lafata.
However, Eden Hazard struck in the 92nd minute to spare Chelsea extra time and what could have been a costly elimination for Rafael Benitez.
Below, you can read how the action unfolded.
Evening all! Well, this isn't the European competition that the Champions League holders would like to be playing in. Nevertheless, Chelsea will see this as a trophy-winning opportunity...
That still hasn't stopped Rafael Benitez from tinkering with his lineup. Captain John Terry returns to the starting XI, but Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic are rested.
Here is the Chelsea team in full then...
CHELSEA: Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand; Mikel, Ramires; Moses, Mata, Oscar; Torres
CHELSEA SUBS: Turnbull, Ferreira, Cole, Luiz, Marin, Hazard, Benayoun
While Terry currently finds himself out of the Premier League team, he is making consecutive Chelsea starts tonight for the first time since the end of January.
The former Three Lions skipper is partnered in central defence by his England compatriot Gary Cahill. Ryan Bertrand is named in the back four in place of Cole.
GOALFLASH! Newcastle have ended a 150-minute stalemate to take the lead over Metalist Kharkiv. Shola Ameobi with the goal.
In the absence of Lampard, John Obi Mikel and Ramires will provide the protection for the home defence. Mikel's Nigerian teammate Victor Moses is included as part of Chelsea's attacking midfield trio after his Africa Cup of Nations success.
Fernando Torres will see this fixture as the ideal opportunity to recapture his goalscoring form. The Spaniard has netted just once in his last 13 appearances, but, with Demba Ba ineligible, is handed the lone striking role for the Blues tonight.
Right, now onto the visitors...
SPARTA: Vaclik; Zapotocny, Svejdik, Holek, Hybs; Prikryl, Matejovsky, Vacha, Krejci; Kadlec, Lafata
SPARTA SUBS: Cech, Pamic, Vidlicka, Polom, Janos, Kweuke, Bednar
Prague make one change to the side that held Chelsea for 82 minutes last week. Midfielder Josef Husbauer is replaced by Tomas Prikryl, a forward by trade.
That alteration perhaps gives you an indication of how the Czechs plan to play tonight, with more attacking intent than they did last week. Remember, Prague need to score at least twice this evening to have any chance of qualification.
The statistics show that is a possibility. A sometimes fragile Blues defence has conceded two goals or more at Stamford Bridge on seven occasions this season.
Prague aren't exactly Manchester United, Juventus or Shakhtar Donetsk, though. This is a real uphill task for Sparta.
Anyway, I think I got a bit distracted there, back to the Prague team news. Familiar names in the visiting lineup include highly-rated striker Vaclav Kadlec, who was a Czech international at just 17 years of age.
Former West Bromwich Albion forward Roman Bednar is Prague's attacking armoury on the bench. He scored 30 goals in 86 league appearances for the Baggies between 2007 and 2012.
Marek Matejovsky, once of Reading, is another former Premier League name in the Sparta lineup. The 31-year-old captains Prague from midfield tonight.
GOALFLASH! Late drama in France. Moussa Dembele has just scored a wonderful goal to snatch Spurs a draw against Lyon which is almost sure to see them progress to the last 16!
RESULTS: That scoreline has now been confirmed, as has the one in Ukraine - Metalist Kharkiv 0-1 Newcastle. Spurs and the Magpies are through, can Chelsea follow?
Just under 10 minutes until kickoff now...
After their unexpected drop out from the Champions League, Chelsea were made favourites for Europe's secondary competition.
That is evident in the expectation on Chelsea tonight. Anything but qualification for the Blues will come as a surprise to all.
PREDICTION: On that note, I anticipate that this will be a fairly unproblematic evening's work for the hosts. I'll plump for 3-0 Chelsea, with Torres among the scorers.
We are underway at Stamford Bridge...
CHANCE! Lovely move from Chelsea as Torres chips a ball over the top for Moses to run onto. He muscles Prague defender Matej Hybs off the ball and pulls a cross back for Torres, whose steered effort drifts inches wide of the far post.
Oscar turns on the edge of the box and unleashes a shot which is deflected behind for a corner. He may not have been a regular under Benitez, but the Brazilian has shown that he has an eye for goal during his debut season in England.
Oscar rolls a pass through to Torres, who is forced wide before standing a cross up which floats over the head of his Samba teammate.
Prague go route one, with Kadlec the willing chaser. For a moment it appears that he is going to sneak behind Terry, but the Blues skipper stretches and heads the ball safely into the gloves of Petr Cech.
BLOCK! Azpilicueta and Cahill get into a tangle dealing with a cross from the Sparta right, but the former recovers well to block a goalbound Kadlec shot.
CHANCE! Superb opportunity for Chelsea as Mata stands a delightful cross up to the back past, which a stretching Torres pokes over the crossbar from six yards.
CHANCE! That's a hat-trick of chances now for Torres, but this one is by far the most difficult. He meets a Mata corner at the near post, but sends his header high and wide.
A perfectly-weighted Oscar cross is collected by Moses, but his square pass aimed for Torres is intercepted and then cleared by Tomas Zapotocny.
GOAL! Chelsea 0[1]1-1[1] Sparta (David Lafata)
Who saw this coming? Chelsea go to sleep after conceding an unnecessary free kick, and Kadlec does brilliantly to retrieve the quickly-taken set piece before squaring for David Lafata to side foot home from six yards. Stamford Bridge is stunned!
BLOCK! Azpilicueta gathers a mistimed Sparta clearance and picks out Oscar with his cross. The Brazilian controls it well and attempts to shoot on the turn, but Ondrej Svejdik throws himself in the way of the shot.
PENALTY SHOUT! Torres tries a give and go with Oscar and claims he is clipped as he attempts to latch onto the return. Nothing given, and rightly so.
Lafata, buoyed by his goal, blazes an ambitious shot into the stands.
Chelsea win a free kick 30 yards out, which Mata lifts over the wall, but not with anywhere near enough dip to see it trouble Sparta stopper Tomas Vaclik.
SAVE! Ladislav Krejci is allowed to drift through the Chelsea midfield unchallenged. He releases Prikryl on the right edge of the area, but his low drive towards the near post is turned behind for a corner by Petr Cech.
SHOT! Matejovsky has a habit of scoring wonder goals, remember that strike against Liverpool during his Reading days? Well, here, he tries something similar as a Sparta corner is cleared to him at the back post. However, he slices a left-footed volley some distance over the home goal.
Cech, incidentally, is playing against his former club. He spent one season playing for Sparta in his native land, making 38 appearances before joining Rennes, from who he was signed by the Blues.
We have an injury stoppage, but, strangely it isn't any of the 22 players who require treatment. Referee Aleksandar Stavrev calls on the Chelsea physio to examine a mysterious cut to his hand, which has drawn blood. Does this mean he will have to leave the field of play before rejoining the action?
Back to on-field matters, Azpilicueta latches on to a Ramires pass before targeting Torres with a cross which is headed clear by Zapotocny.
Matejovsky again tries his luck from range, but the shot loses pace as it takes a nick off Cahill on its way through to Cech.
SAVE! Mata nearly levels the scores, and perhaps deserved to. The Spaniard beautifully plucks a chipped Ramires pass out of the sky and then, under pressure from Svejdik, flicks the ball onto his left foot and shoots, but Vaclik makes an outstanding save to tip it over the crossbar.
Mata delivers a cross into a dangerous area, but just behind Torres and Cahill, who had maintained his advanced position following a cleared Chelsea corner.
Sparta break through Matejovsky, who takes his time before picking out the run of Prikryl down the right. Kadlec is in the middle but the cross is well overhit and flies out of play.
We are entering first-half stoppage time, of which there will be two minutes...
CHANCE! It is another sight of goal for Torres, and a good one at that. He makes an excellent run to meet Azpilicueta's cross, only to send his header into the stands.
HALF-TIME: Chelsea 0[1]1-1[1] Sparta
Many expected Sparta to roll over tonight. On the contrary, the Czechs have ensured that we have a real game on our hands with 45 minutes of this two-legged contest remaining. David Lofata has given Prague a vital away goal which has cancelled out Oscar's strike from the first leg and levelled the tie.
Prague have offered more of an attacking threat than they did in the first leg, but the Blues have still had the majority of the chances. The under-fire Torres has largely been the guilty party and it is clear that the home fans are becoming increasingly frustrated with his wastefulness.
However, with Demba Ba not among the substitutes, due to him being cup tied, it is likely that Chelsea's striking burden will fall on his shoulders again during the second half.
Frank Lampard is another potential goalscorer absent from the Blues bench. He has a habit of netting big goals in big games, but Benitez will not be able to call upon the fan favourite this evening.
STATS: The hosts have enjoyed 56% of possession, but only managed to convert that into one effort on target. Sparta, meanwhile, have registered three accurate shots, one of which was Lofata's opener, which currently separates the side.
However, a stat which may ease some of the nail-biters among the Chelsea fans. The Blues have scored 13 of their last 15 goals in the second half of games.
The second half is underway, with both sides unchanged...
WOODWORK: Chelsea fly out of the blocks and come within inches of an equaliser. Oscar embarks on a driving run, leaving three Prague players in his wake before passing inside for compatriot Ramires, whose effort deflects of Hybs and rattles the post.
Click here for a half-time report on the Stamford Bridge contest, courtesy of my colleague, Jack Prescott.
Kadlec carries the ball forward into space and reaches the edge of the Chelsea box unchallenged. He squares for Krejci, who opts to play a return pass rather than shoot and the danger is averted.
CHANCE! It just won't happen for Torres, will it? Ramires threads a pass through for the Spaniard, and when he turns away from Mario Holek, he is in one-on-one. He attempts to dink the ball over Vaclik, who charges out quickly to make a smart stop with his chest.
Torres is now being greeted by boos from some sections of the Chelsea fans every time he touches the ball. That can't be helping his confidence.
GOALFLASH! Luis Suarez has scored his second of the evening to level the aggregate scores between Liverpool and Zenit. As it stands, the Russians will progress on away goals.
SAVE! Torres flicks the ball on to Terry, who, with his back to goal, instinctively hooks a shot goalwards which is parried over the crossbar by Vaclik. Another fine stop from the Sparta stopper.
CHANCE! Terry concedes possession on the halfway line and Prague counter. Prikryl lays it inside to Matejovsky, who has runners right and left, but instead chooses to go it alone and comes within a foot of finding Cech's bottom corner.
He has missed five or six chances tonight, and to make matters worse for Torres, his stomach has just felt the full force of a thunderous Ramires volley. Ouch.
SUBSTITUTION: Benitez turns to his bench for the first time. Hazard enters the fray in place of Oscar.
SHOT! Torres is involved again, chesting the ball down for Moses to shoot powerfully and Vaclik is forced to palm the ball around the post.
BOOKING! Just to bring you up to date on a caution from earlier in the half. Matej Hybs was shown a yellow card for a foul on Cesar Azpilicueta.
Sparta venture forward for the first time in fifteen minutes as Kadlec, with men over on the right flank, dribbles into the area, cuts inside and shoots. Cahill makes an important block.
Mata passes inside to Ramires and looks for the return. Instead, the Brazilian travels into the area and drags a shot across goal well wide.
SHOT! Zapotocny runs from deep to meet the ball with a thumping half volley, which just drifts wide of Cech's near post.
Chelsea travel to Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday. They will not want to do so on the back of extra time, but we are just 13 minutes away from that in London.
Hazard's fresh legs skip past Zapotocny on the left and earn a free kick for the home side.
The Belgian picks himself up to deliver a pacey cross which is punched clear by Vaclik.
SUBSTITUTION: Prague goalscorer and potential hero Lafata is replaced by Cameroon international Leonard Kweuke.
BOOKING! Prikryl is cautioned for charging out of the Prague wall and blocking a Mata free kick. The Spaniard gets a second go at it but again strikes the Sparta defences.
YELLOW CARD! Blues left-back Bertrand follows Prikryl into the book for a tug on Kadlec.
BOOKING! And Matejovsky completes a quickfire treble of cautions for scything down a jinking Hazard.
CHANCE! A Chelsea corner is flicked on by Terry and finds Ramires, who spins and slices a 10-yard shot horribly wide.
CLOSE! Sparta come within yards of a memorable winner as Matejovsky slips in Kadlec, who tiredly pokes a shot into the side netting.
GOAL! Chelsea 1[2]-1[1] Sparta (Eden Hazard)
With what proves to be the final kick off the game, Hazard saves Chelsea from extra time and an embarrassing defeat with a brilliant individual goal. He produces some lovely footwork to skip between two Prague challenges before lashing a shot into the top corner from the left edge of the box. Hazard is Chelsea's saviour!
FULL-TIME: Chelsea 1[2]-1[1] Sparta
As Tottenham did earlier this evening, Chelsea prolong their Europa League campaign with a last-ditch goal from a Belgian. It is cruel on Sparta, whose courageous attacking display and stubborn defending warranted them more than their painful exit.
While the emotion is heartbreak for the visiting Czechs, it is relief for the Blues, who avoid extra-time and become the third English club through to the last 16 of the competition.
New Sparta signing David Lafata gave Prague a surprise 17th-minute lead, which was maintained until Hazard's stoppage-time strike. In between we saw some acrobatic goalkeeping, some poor Torres finishing, and some nervous Rafael Benitez facial expressions.
RESULT: Elsewhere tonight, Liverpool's second-leg comeback was not enough to see them overturn the two-goal deficit they brought back from Russia as Zenit St. Petersburg progressed at the expense of the Reds.
Right, that is it from me this evening. You can read a full-time report on the Stamford Bridge contest, here. Thanks for joining Sports Mole tonight. Over and out...
