Bayern Munich beat Juventus 2-0 in Turin to win 4-0 on aggregate and progress to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
Bayern, who wrapped up the Bundesliga crown at the weekend, might have been expecting a tough night in Italy but second-half goals from Mario Mandzukic and Claudio Pizarro sealed the tie.
Mandzukic, who was unlucky to be booked early on and will now miss the first leg of the semi-final, had the first opportunity for the German side when he almost turned in a Franck Ribery cross.
At the other end, Juventus pushed for the first-half breakthrough they surely needed but Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved well from a fiercely struck Andrea Pirlo free-kick.
Paul Pogba then played a dangerous ball across the face of the Bayern goalmouth but there was nobody on the end of it, while Arjen Robben blazed over wildly when well placed for the visitors.
After the break, Juve showed some intent when Fabio Quagliarella cut in from the left and fired right-footed just wide of Neuer's near post.
But it was Bayern posing the greater threat with Robben hitting the post with Buffon beaten before Mandzukic delivered the killer blow on the hour mark.
Bastian Schweinsteiger whipped in a free-kick from the right and while Buffon was able to parry Javi Martinez's close-range effort away, Mandzukic was there to slot the ball home.
The German champions could have doubled their advantage on the night when Robben set up Thomas Muller but the 23-year-old curled a great chance over the bar.
Substitute Pizarro did add a second goal when the veteran pulled away from his marker in the right channel and slid the ball past Buffon with ease.
By that point, any hope of a Bianconeri comeback had long since been extinguished and Jupp Heynckes' side saw out the game to join Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in the last four.
| Juventus | Team Statistics | FC Bayern München |
| 0 | Goals | 2 |
| 0 | 1st Half Goals | 0 |
| 3 | Shots on Target | 7 |
| 4 | Shots off Target | 9 |
| 5 | Blocked Shots | 3 |
| 3 | Corners | 7 |
| 13 | Fouls | 16 |
| 5 | Offsides | 2 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 79.1 | Passing Success | 86.1 |
| 18 | Tackles | 11 |
| 83.3 | Tackles Success | 72.7 |
| 41.5 | Possession | 58.5 |
| 47.4 | Territorial Advantage | 52.6 |
| 378 | Total Passes | 538 |
| 16 | Total Crosses | 22 |
| 142 | Lost Balls | 142 |
| 47 | Recoveries | 60 |
| 43.8 | 1st Half Poss. | 56.2 |
| 38.6 | 2nd Half Poss. | 61.4 |
Benitez was an unpopular appointment at Stamford Bridge due to his prior association with Liverpool - a side he led to the Champions League title in 2005 after a controversial semi-final defeat of the Blues.
In a bid to quell the discontent emanating from the stands, Benitez in February called for them to back the team and confirmed he would be leaving Chelsea at the end of the season.
Speculation has mounted in recent weeks over where Benitez will go next. A leading side in England is an option, and he did not totally dismiss the prospect of a return to Liverpool this week - in part because his family home remains in the north-west.
A local journalist informed Benitez that Russian Liverpool fans are intending to attend Thursday's match at the Luzhniki Stadium and asked about a return to Anfield.
The Spaniard, wearing a wide smile, said: "All the support is welcome, but especially for the players, so hopefully the players will feel a little warm and will be fine.
"I have my family in Liverpool so that is my home and I will come back to Liverpool any time.
"Just to clarify: I'm talking about my home, where my family is, not the team.
"I am the Chelsea manager and I will go back next week because we have to play against Liverpool (April 21)."
The reaction of Chelsea's anticipated small band of travelling fans will be intriguing at a venue where they have experienced defeat on the biggest stage - the 2008 Champions League final penalty shootout loss to Manchester United.
The ghost was put to rest when Chelsea beat Spartak Moscow 2-0 on their return to the arena in October 2010, also in the Champions League, but the Europa League is new territory for a team perennially in the latter stages of the top-tier European competition.
That is nothing to do with Benitez; his predecessor Roberto Di Matteo's side had already become the first holders to exit the competition prior to his November appointment.
Now the Spaniard is seeking to finish his Blues career on a high, beginning with safe passage into Friday's semi-final draw ahead of Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City at Wembley.
Midfielder John Obi Mikel recently suggested he struggles for motivation for the Europa League, but a trophy is on the horizon.
Chelsea could become the first team to hold the Europa League and Champions League trophies at the same time - for a few days at least - if they win the final in Amsterdam on May 15.
That is the aim for Benitez, whose side must first confirm their last-four place after taking a 3-1 aggregate lead following the first leg.
Benitez said: "We have a lot of respect for Rubin Kazan. We know that it's a good team.
"All my players know how important this competition is and they will be really pleased if we go through and will go to the final and if we can win the final."
Chelsea's lead is commanding, but Rubin Kazan are difficult opponents as Inter Milan, 2012 Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and Levante have found out.
Kazan are also playing away from home, due to inclement weather 500 miles further east in their home city where they beat Inter, but Benitez does not anticipate a shock.
"We know the team, so they can do well and then maybe we have to react," said Benitez, who is unconcerned about the synthetic pitch.
"I have confidence we can do well. I don't see too many surprises.
"If they play well, fair enough, but not because we are surprised."
Benitez will rotate his players with City in mind, with captain John Terry and midfielder Frank Lampard expected to return to the starting line-up.
Chelsea must also adapt in defence, where the absences of left-backs Ashley Cole (hamstring) and Ryan Bertrand (illness) force a change.
Experienced Portuguese Paulo Ferreira and 18-year-old Dutchman Nathan Ake are options and Benitez has backed the latter to perform, if selected.
"I don't think it will be a big problem for Ake if he has to play there," Benitez said.
Degen is hoping to make history by reaching the Europa League semi-finals at the expense of Tottenham.
Last week the Swiss champions pulled off the shock of the round by securing a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane, making them favourites heading into Thursday's return leg at St Jakob-Park.
Basle go into the match on a run of four successive home Europa League wins and in the knowledge that a place in club history is just 90 minutes away.
FCB have never previously made the semi-finals of a European competition, although Degen insists confidence rather than nervousness is the overriding emotion.
"We are not at all nervous," the academy graduate said. "We have shown good performances already in Europe this season.
"Everyone knows what they are capable of and there is a lot of anticipation in the team but we are all very focused.
"There is enough experience in the team to know what is at stake. It will be a decisive match to decide if we will go through.
"We could write history for the club, that would be a great success, but there are 90 minutes left.
"We will take on the challenge, everyone will give their best and we are ready for the match tomorrow."
Degen has a unique perspective on Tottenham as the only Basle player to have plied their trade in England.
The Switzerland international spent three unsuccessful years with Liverpool up until 2011 and believes Spurs are a better side than when he left.
"The whole club has developed further, immensely you could say," Degen said.
"They are striving for the top four positions every season. They want to win titles.
"Of course they want to win, want to win the title, the expectations are very high.
"I mean Gareth Bale, when I was playing for Liverpool, was left-back whereas now he is more offensive.
"You could say Tottenham have developed very well and so have their expectations for the team."
Degen missed the first leg through injury but coach Murat Yakin confirmed he will start tomorrow.
Cabral and Park Joo-ho are also available while Marco Streller has overcome a knock and is able to feature.
"We are happy to be in the quarter-finals and to have achieved a good result in the first leg," coach Yakin said.
"We are well prepared, the team showed last week that we can keep up with top teams and the top English teams.
"It will be an open, balanced match. Everything is possible. Last week we showed surprises are possible. It's 50/50.
"We will advance if we start well. We have a good chance to progress if we show the same performance as last week.
"We are very confident about the game and we will see what happens."
The Portuguese league leaders will run out to face Newcastle at St James' Park tomorrow night defending a 3-1 first-leg lead and knowing they have one foot in the last four.
However, Jesus is wary of the threat posed by the Magpies, who took the lead at the Estadio da Luz and twice hit the post before finally succumbing to a second-half onslaught.
Asked if his side had done enough in Lisbon to secure their passage, Jesus said: "We did enough - we scored three goals and Newcastle scored one.
"But everything is still open, of course, and they [Newcastle] still believe they can go through as well so everything will be decided tomorrow."
Benfica are unbeaten in 31 games in all competitions - they last lost to Spartak Moscow in the Champions league in October - and maintained their lead at the top of their domestic table with a 2-0 victory at Olhanense on Sunday.
By contrast, Newcastle are still engaged in a battle for Barclays Premier League survival, a process which received a welcome boost at the weekend when Papiss Cisse's injury-time strike secured a narrow victory over Fulham which lifted them five points clear of the drop zone and into 13th place.
However, Jesus believes they are a better team than their league position suggests.
He said: "Yes, of course they have a better team than is shown by the table. They have great players and they are a very strong team."
Newcastle have made something of a habit of scoring late goals in recent weeks and manager Alan Pardew has admitted he will still be confident of success even if they go into the final 10 minutes of the tie still trailing by two goals.
However, Jesus is expecting the Magpies to attack his treble-chasing side from the off and has prepared his defenders for an aerial assault.
He said: "Newcastle will start very strongly in the first half as well and we are ready for that.
"We are always ready for any type of strategy from other clubs so we will be prepared.
"If they attack it will put more emphasis on our defence. I believe Shola Ameobi and Papiss Cisse will play up front and they are very strong in the air.
"But we will be ready for that and have trained for all these possibilities."
Former Bolton striker Rodrigo, who scored Benfica's first-leg equaliser, has been to St James' before having been an unused substitute in Wanderers' 1-1 Premier League draw on Tyneside in February 2011, and he knows exactly what to expect from a sell-out crowd.
He said: "We know all the British teams have very supportive fans but we are used to that, so the players are quite relaxed about it.
"Of course we are aware it would be a pretty good moment if we could get through but we will have to wait and see.
"We know Newcastle are powerful up front but it's our job to neutralise their attack to get through to the next stage."
