Chelsea needed to claw back PSG's 3-1 advantage from the first leg and Andre
Schurrle - on as an early substitute for the injured Eden Hazard - gave them
hope with a first-half goal.
And with only three minutes left Ba, another substitute, bundled the ball
home from six yards to make the decisive contribution and spark wild
celebrations as the Premier League side went through on away goals.
Analysis
"Cech, Terry, Luiz, Lampard ran for each other all night long. However poorly
you play, you will always get chances - no matter how good the team you are
playing. PSG are very direct but never really fashioned too many chances
tonight. In the end it could have been more comfortable for Chelsea.
"For a lot of games at Stamford Bridge the atmosphere hasn't been great -
tonight it was fantastic."
Mourinho, in scenes reminiscent of his famous sprint
down the Old Trafford touchline in 2004 when Porto knocked out Manchester United
on the way to winning the Champions League, raced to join his players as they
mobbed Ba.
He then pulled players from the celebrating pile to issue some final orders
as the Blues held out to complete the turnaround.
Ba's finish came just as Chelsea looked to be on the way out after Schurrle
and Oscar were both denied by the woodwork - although the London side were
helped by a crucial miss from the normally reliable Edinson Cavani minutes
before the decisive goal.
And goalkeeper Petr Cech, heavily criticised after that first-leg loss,
redeemed himself with a superb save from Marquinhos in stoppage time to prevent
PSG snatching the tie back at the very last.
It will be Mourinho's third Champions League semi-final in charge of Chelsea
- and he will be hoping it proves third time lucky after losing his previous two
to Liverpool.
With a Premier League title challenge still very much on, this season holds
the promise of serial winner Mourinho adding at least one more trophy to his
collection.
The Portuguese was able to recall fit-again Samuel Eto'o in attack but
suffered the major setback of losing Hazard to injury early on - although
substitute Schurrle more than made his mark.
It was the German who gave the hosts the lift of the crucial opening goal
after 32 minutes. Visiting boss Laurent Blanc was left furious after his defence
failed to deal with Branislav Ivanovic's routine long throw, as Schurrle had
time and space in the area to sweep home from David Luiz's touch.
PSG had shown little attacking ambition without the injured Zlatan
Ibrahimovic and continued to hand the initiative to Chelsea at the start of the
second half, when only the woodwork stopped the Blues levelling the tie on
aggregate, backed up by that crucial away goal in Paris.
Schurrle was unlucky to see his effort beat keeper Salvatore Sirigu and
rebound off the bar, while Oscar suffered a similar fate with a 20-yard
free-kick seconds later.
Key moments
18 mins: Eden Hazard injured and replaced by Andre Schurrle
32 mins: Schurrle opens the scoring with a low shot from 10
yards
51 & 53 mins: First Schurrle then Oscar hit the bar
65 mins: Demba Ba comes on for Frank Lampard
76 mins: Yohan Cabaye's pass picks out Edinson Cavani but
the PSG striker blazes over
87 mins: Demba Ba scores the close-range goal which sends
Chelsea into the semi-finals
Cech had been little more than an observer to this point
but had to show great athleticism to turn away Ezequiel Lavezzi's angled effort.
Mourinho made an attacking change with 24 minutes left, Ba getting the nod
ahead of Fernando Torres to provide extra threat when Frank Lampard was
replaced.
As PSG tried to cash in on Chelsea's increasing urgency, Cavani - of whom
little had been seen - hinted at his danger with a powerful volley that flew
narrowly over.
The Uruguayan then had an even better chance to kill Chelsea off when he was
released by a magnificent pass from former Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye.
The entire PSG bench were off their feet in anticipation as Cavani raced
through, only for the striker to fire over the top with just Cech to beat.
As the game entered its last 10 minutes Mourinho played his final card,
sending on Torres for the tiring Oscar, but it was Ba who was the man on the
spot to provide that dramatic finale and ensure a place in Friday's semi-final
draw.
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