Rafael Benitez pleased with Europa League progress

Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez has insisted that he is pleased to reach the Europa League semi-finals, despite Thursday's defeat to Rubin Kazan.

The Blues were beaten 3-2 in Russia in the second leg of their quarter-final tie but made it through to the next round of the competition 5-4 on aggregate.

"We are pleased to get through, but disappointed a little bit because we could have done a little better in defence," Benitez is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"They were pushing and have players with quality, but the main thing for us was to progress."

Next up for Chelsea is Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.