London: Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo claimed his side "made history" in progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 5-4 aggregate victory over Napoli on Wednesday.
The Blues went into Wednesday night's last-16 tie 3-1 down on aggregate after defeat in Naples, but triumphed 4-1 in the second leg at Stamford Bridge to secure their passage to the next round.
The interim boss was understandably delighted with his squad following the win, telling ITV: "It was a fantastic effort and a fantastic game as well, to watch two great teams on the pitch."
"I think we made history tonight because we were in such a difficult position before the game. We knew it would take a lot to go through and the performance of the whole team was outstanding."
Whilst the 41-year-old initially refused to single out his senior players, he conceded that their experience of important matches had helped Chelsea to progress.
"It was not just the senior players, it was the collective performance of the team," said the Italian coach. "But the senior players put experience on pitch because they are used to playing this type of game."
"David Luiz couldn’t walk anymore at the end and John Terry went on [playing] with cramp. Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Petr Cech, who made some great saves, and everyone playing were incredible tonight."
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