The Blues were fortunate to be in the hat for the fifth round draw, bailed out by an increasingly rare example of Fernando Torres coming up trumps when it mattered against Brentford, who had twice taken the lead against the more illustrious west London club at Griffin Park.
Whatever Roman Abramovich's opinion of Benitez, it is inconceivable that the Spaniard may continue beyond the current campaign and the Chelsea players know it. When Sir Alex Ferguson declared his intention to retire at the end of the 2001-02 season, Manchester United ended up finishing in third place in the Premier League - they have never finished lower in the new top flight.
