Chelsea booked their place in the semi-finals of the Europa League but it was far from comfortable for Rafa Benitez's side as Rubin Kazan secured a 3-2 win on the night that saw them still fall two goals short of progressing.

Fernando Torres had followed on from his brace in the first leg to hand Chelsea the lead within five minutes as he volleyed the ball home from 30 yards. Kazan drew level thanks to a superb header from Ivan Marcano before Victor Moses restored the Blues' lead on the night.

Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres and Victor Moses celebrate as Chelsea defeat Rubin Kazan in the Europa League quarter-final. [Reuters]

Another headed goal from Kazan captain Gökdeniz Karadeniz and a penalty from Bibras Natcho gave the home side some hope, but they eventually fell just short.

Playing some 500 miles from their home Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Kazan would have hoped to make a quick start but it was Chelsea, who have bad memories of this stadium as it is where they lost the 2008 Champions League final to Manchester United, who took the lead.

Just five minutes in Frank Lampard swept the ball beyond the back four and goalkeeper Sergey Ryzhikov came sprinting out but found himself completely stranded. Torres raced through and coolly lobbed the ball into the empty net from all of 30 yards.

Benitez's side had survived an early scare when John Terry was forced to clear a shot off the line but they were rarely troubled in the first half.

Even with Paulo Ferrerira making a rare appearance at left-back and 18-year-old Nathan Ake making just his second start for the senior side, Chelsea looked confident in possession and Cech was rarely forced into action.

Kazan managed to up the tempo in the second half and it took them just six minutes to level matters when a short corner was played to Pablo Orbaiz who swept the ball into the box for left-back Ivan Marcano to thunder a header home.

On 55 minutes Chelsea managed to once again extend their advantage as Lampard and Ramires combined to feed Victor Moses whose perfect first touch allowed him to bend the ball past the keeper from just inside the penalty area.

Chelsea should really have killed the game at this point but they struggled to deal with crosses all night and once again they failed to deal with a ball into the box.

Cesar Azpilicueta failed to stop a cross on the right and Karadeniz towered over Ake at the back post to power his header past a helpless Cech.

It got even nervier on 74 minutes with another mistake from Azpilicueta as the Spanish full-back got the wrong side of Aleksandr Ryazantsev who felt the slightest contact and immediately flopped to the ground.

Natcho dispatched the penalty to give Kazan hope but they were unable to find another goal, despite Solomon Rondon having a glorious opportunity as he headed straight at Cech from just five yards.

Chelsea will now go into the draw for the semi-finals and will turn their attention to domestic honours as they face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.