Inter Milan ousted Chelsea 1-0 to earn a place in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Samuel Eto’o scored with 12 minutes left to seal a 3-1 aggregate win for the Italian club when he beat offside and finished Wesley Sneijder’s floated free-kick with a low shot past goalkeeper Ross Turnbull.
Inter, coached by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, frustrated Chelsea’s efforts to get the single goal it needed to advance and left the host failing to score for the first time since December 26.
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Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was sent off with three minutes left for stamping on Thiago Motta’s foot after the Inter midfielder bundled into him in the area with a challenge that could have yielded a penalty.
With Chelsea pressing for an equaliser, Eto’o almost scored a second in injury time but Turnbull saved with his feet.
The referee also refused two previous appeals for similar penalties by Chelsea, contributing to a furious reaction to defeat by the home fans and Chelsea captain John Terry, who entered into furious discussion with the fourth official at the end of the match.
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The Stamford Bridge crowd sang Mourinho’s name on his first return since leaving the club in 2007 but jeered him and his players at the end, partly in frustration at the way they used up time by preparing slowly for free-kicks.
But while Inter’s substitutes and support staff leapt to the touchline to greet the players as they celebrated Eto’o’s goal, Mourinho stayed seated and rose only to gather them back, picking up a match program hurled onto the field by an angry fan.
Chelsea’s first loss in 22 home matches in the Champions League ended the Premier League club’s run of appearances in the quarterfinals.