( CNN ) -- The story was the same that Fernando Torres has been writing ever since he joined Chelsea from Liverpool for the enormous sum of Â£50 million ( $ 80 million ) in January 2011 . Having secured Chelsea 's passage to the Europa League quarterfinals by scoring the goal that ultimately knocked out Romania 's Steaua Bucharest , Torres then had the chance to embellish a rare display of confidence with a late penalty . Could this be the moment that the Spaniard , who looked unusually fired up after being denied what he thought was a penalty before then suffering a bloodied nose , finally began to feel settled at Stamford Bridge ? For those who have followed Torres ' stop-start Blues career , the scenario was all too familiar as he crashed his 86th minute penalty against the crossbar - before looking to the heavens in despair . That he was even prepared to take the penalty told its own story for a man who can boast World Cup and European Championship medals is not known for his prowess nor confidence from the spot . Indeed , when he stepped up against Sunderland in a 3-1 league win at the Stadium of Light last December , the successful effort was -- remarkably -- the first he had ever scored in the Premier League since arriving in 2007 . With reports surfacing of Torres having turned down the chance to join big-spending Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala , this seemed the chance for the striker , who celebrates his 29th birthday next week , to banish his woes and restore that absent friend of his : confidence . But as the ball cannoned against the woodwork , the former Atletico Madrid star may have felt that there is an invisible barrier blocking his path at Chelsea . `` He was working hard and he took his chance great -- but obviously , it 's a pity that the penalty did n't go in for him , '' said Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech . Nonetheless , Torres ' strike in the 71st minute was enough to see Chelsea through on a tense night -- meaning the Blues stay on course to become the first side to win UEFA 's top two club competitions in reverse order in successive seasons . Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in the Romanian capital , Rafa Benitez 's side leveled matters as Juan Mata squeezed the ball home after 33 minutes -- but Vlad Chiriches ' equalizer ( and away goal ) on the stroke of half time gave the game a very different complexion . Making a rare start after a season disrupted by knee problems , captain John Terry restored Chelsea 's lead before Torres scored only his second goal in 20 games to register a 3-2 aggregate win . The victory capped a productive night for English clubs as Chelsea , Tottenham and Newcastle managed to partly atone for the failure of their Premier League counterparts in the Champions League -- none of whom made it into the last eight . Spurs were involved in the day 's most dramatic game as they took a 3-0 lead to Inter Milan -- only to find themselves level on aggregate after 90 minutes as the rampant Italians scored through the lively Antonio Cassano , Rodrigo Palacio and a William Gallas own goal . But six minutes into extra-time , the previously quiet Emmanuel Adebayor silenced Inter 's fans when poking home a vital away goal . The Togolese boasted the unusual record of having scored for Spurs against Inter at the same San Siro stadium where he had netted for Arsenal against AC Milan -- a rare feat -- but this was a mere aside when Alvarez made it 4-4 on aggregate with ten minutes to go . But Tottenham -- who badly missed the suspended Gareth Bale -- held on , to leave coach Andre Villas-Boas with the chance of repeating the 2011 Europa League triumph he achieved with Porto . `` We have learned massively from our last two ties in the competition , against Lyon and Inter , '' said the visibly-drained 35-year-old after the game . While Spurs hung on for victory , Newcastle achieved theirs deep in stoppage time as Papiss Demba Cisse headed home -- at home -- against Anzhi Makhachkala for a 1-0 aggregate win . Russian clubs had a mixed night with Rubin Kazan winning 2-0 at home against Levante , but only after extra-time , while Zenit St Petersburg went out against Basel , beaten 2-1 on aggregate after Roman Shirokov failed to score an 86th-minute penalty that would have taken the game into extra-time . Elsewhere , Libor Kozak scored a hat-trick as Lazio completed a comfortable 5-1 aggregate win over Stuttgart with a 3-1 win in Rome while Portugal 's Benfica , one of the strongest teams left in the Europa League , knocked out Bordeaux 4-2 . Fenerbahce joined Champions League quarterfinalists Galatasaray in extending Istanbul 's interest in European competition as they completed a 2-1 aggregate win over Czech side Viktoria Plzen .
Inter Milan overturn first leg deficit to beat Steaua Bucharest and reach last eight . Spurs perform heroics but still exit against Spurs in thrilling 4 -4 aggregate draw . Lazio , Benfica , Benfica , Newcastle and 4 Italians sides also into quarters .