John Terry apologised to his team-mates for “letting them down” after being sent off in the first half of his side’s incredible semi-final victory over Barcelona.
The 10-man visitors battled back from 2-0 down at the Nou Camp to draw 2-2 on the night and win 3-2 on aggregate to progress to the final – all after losing centre-back Terry for inexplicably kneeing Alexis Sanchez eight minutes before half-time.
After viewing a replay of the red-card incident, Terry said: “Sanchez was darting in behind me. I’ve seen the replay and it does look bad.
“I’m not that type of player to intentionally hurt anyone. I’ve raised my knee, which I maybe shouldn’t have done in hindsight. But hopefully people who know me as a person, as a player… I’m not that type of player.
“I’m disappointed but delighted. To come here and play the way they did and get the result they did with 10 men… I feel I’ve let them down. I’ve apologised to them and I want to apologise to the fans as well.
“At the time, I was bewildered because I was trying to protect myself a little bit, but looking at it on the replay, I’ve no complaints. I’ve let the lads down. They’ve performed brilliantly, so hopefully this doesn’t take it away from the players.”
Caretaker boss Di Matteo refused to condemn Terry for leaving his team a man down.
“He’s fantastic leader of this group. He’s the captain of our club. Everybody can make a mistake in life. We’re just so happy this group has managed to go to the final.”
Asked if he was angry with his skipper, the Italian replied: “No, I’m not. We’re all human beings. We’re under a lot of pressure as players.”
Barca peppered the visitors’ goal throughout the semi-final second leg and deservedly took the lead through Sergio Busquets, who tapped home from close range.
Things got worse for the Blues less than two minutes later when Terry was sent off and Barca surged further ahead through Andres Iniesta, although Ramires clawed a goal back in first-half stoppage time with a deft chip.
Lionel Messi saw his penalty smash the bar shortly after the restart and he later saw a lot shot pushed onto the post by Petr Cech, but Chelsea somehow held out before Torres came off the bench to wrap up the aggregate victory in injury time.
“It’s an incredible achievement by this group of players,” Di Matteo added.
“A lot of people had written us off and we showed again what kind of character these players have.
“We didn’t expect to play with 10 men and we knew it was going to be tough. It was even more difficult than we expected. We just showed what we’re made of.”
Midfielder Frank Lampard savoured the result as one of the most special of his 11 years with the west London club.
“It’s one of the finest moments I’ve felt in a Chelsea shirt,” Lampard, who has made more than 550 appearances for club, said.
“It was backs to the wall. I know we dug in and people want to see beautiful football, but with 10 men for 50-odd minutes or whatever it was, to perform like that was unbelievable.
“That clock wasn’t half slow in the second half!
“You know they’re liable at any moment because of the players they’ve got in their team but there’s a determination about us and you get what you deserve.”
As well as Terry’s automatic suspension for his red card, the Blues will also be without defender Branislav Ivanovic and midfielders Raul Meireles and Ramires for the May 19 showpiece in Munich after all picked up bookings.
Striker Didier Drogba said: “We are happy that we qualified, but at the same time we keep our feet on the ground because our best players are not going to be there.”
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