We will have to wait another year for Champions League success after being beaten at home by an Inter side we found impossible to break down.

Samuel Eto'o scored the game's only goal with time already ticking away from Chelsea, who saw Didier Drogba sent off after clashing with Thiago Motta inside the final five minutes.

It was a frustrating evening at Stamford Bridge, as despite dominating much of the possession, the Blues could find no way past Inter's experienced and well drilled defence.

It means another year of frustration in Europe, but things could have been different had first-half penalty shouts from Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic been answered.

With the tie delicately poised from the first leg in Milan three weeks earlier, a 1-0 Chelsea win would have been enough for progression, but an Inter goal would mean Chelsea needed three.

Fit again Yury Zhirkov replacing the unregistered Paulo Ferreira was the only change made by Carlo Ancelotti to the starting 11 that beat West Ham on Saturday, but Mourinho's side represented a sturdier barrier to break down, and were also likelier to offer a testing examination of third choice goalkeeper Ross Turnbull.

The Portuguese made just one change himself from the side that prevailed in Lombardy, Goran Pandev replacing Dejan Stankovic, suggesting a shift to 4-3-3 as demonstrated in the closing stages of that first meeting.

Inter kicked off attacking the Matthew Harding end, but the first drama of the evening came in front of the Shed, Florent Malouda blocked off by a static Lucio on the edge of the Inter box. Nothing was given by referee Wolfgang Stark of Germany. The mind couldn't help but wander back to May last year, when numerous appeals were turned away as Barcelona went through at our expense.

Michael Ballack, one of the main protagonists on that evening last spring, was the first to gain a sight of goal, flashing a low drive past Julio Cesar's right-hand post, close enough to temporarily hush a boisterous home support.

On 16 minutes Drogba lined up a 35-yard free-kick after Lucio had raised his foot on Malouda, his shot straight into the wall, and then 10 minutes later the same player was denied by Maicon as he shot from inside the area.

The Nerazzurri were limiting Chelsea's forward play effectively, denying the Blues space and time in midfield and not allowing the full-backs sufficient room in which to attack on the flanks, Maicon particularly impressive against Zhirkov.

On the front foot the Brazilian picked out an unmarked Eto'o just after the half-hour, the Cameroonian forward in a state of shock as the ball reached him, heading into the ground and over the bar as Branislav Ivanovic tried to make ground after john Terry was beaten.

In the Inter area Ivanovic was felled by a Motta tug, but again no whistle. There was however when Alex tripped Eto'o just over 30 yards out, making it Wesley Sneijder's turn to send a powerful drive directly into a defensive wall.

Five minutes before the break Malouda did superbly to wriggle inside the Inter area and create space to shoot on his favoured left side, yet from nowhere emerged a sliding Lucio to divert the shot away. Within a minute Nicolas Anelka also found space as Drogba found him inside the area, but Cesar was quick to smother the chance.

At the resultant corner Walter Samuel had both arms wrapped around Drogba as both men went to ground, but again there was no penalty awarded. Mourinho himself was always a fan of conspiracies, Ancelotti and Ray Wilkins looked like they were starting to wonder.

Half-time came and went without changes, the first action of the second half being a yellow card for Motta after a block on Malouda. Again Drogba lined up the dead ball, and this time his shot did find its way through, but was far too tame to trouble Cesar.

Inter were still threatening on the counter, and again Eto'o could have put his side in front on the night, but allowed Zhirkov to backtrack and remove the threat.

Malouda's low shot was turned around the post by Cesar on 51 minutes, before Stark issued three yellow cards in as many minutes, to Malouda, Lucio and finally Drogba.

Zhirkov showed his defensive worth again just before the hour as he challenged Goran Pandev, who had been put through by Sneijder, and then Turnbull had to be alert to hold Diego Milito's close range shot.

With time just beginning to ebb away, Ancelotti made his first substitution, Joe Cole for Ballack in an unmistakably attacking switch. In the other technical area Mourinho began to grow animated, urging his full-backs to concentrate on defence rather than attack.

Milito dragged a golden opportunity wide on 65 minutes after Sneijder had caught the Chelsea sub flat-footed, stealing in and chipping the ball beyond a Chelsea defence wrongly looking to play offside, and then Motta headed the Dutchman's free-kick over the bar when well placed.

Inter looked to have grasped control of the tie. With 20 minutes left what more could Chelsea offer?

Ancelotti made another sub, Zhirkov was withdrawn, Malouda moved to left-back and Salomon Kalou introduced as another attacking option. Mourinho countered by replacing Pandev with Stankovic, the Serb dropping into central midfield.

Kalou's first contribution was to cut inside a challenge and fire wide from 30 yards. Wasteful it may have been, but it at least offered hope.

That hope was quickly diminished with 13 minutes remaining, when another accurate Sneijder through ball, this time from his own half, was seized upon by Eto'o. One of the best strikers in the world, he rarely misses twice and so it proved as he guided the ball past Turnbull and into the bottom corner, the nearest defender Ivanovic unable to make up enough ground.

Two goals were needed just to force extra time. Alex was moved up front as a focal point, but before he could have any impact Chelsea lost Drogba to a red card, after the Ivorian tangled with Thiago Motta in the Inter area. Replays suggested very little had gone on, though he may have trodden on the midfielder's leg.

By now Inter were in the ascendancy, and Eto'o could have doubled the lead in injury time, only for Turnbull to produce a superb save to keep the deficit to one.

So another European dream ends in disappointment with question marks over the officiating, the focus now must be on domestic success. Ancelotti's job is to pick his men up in time for the weekend, when valuable Premier League points are at stake at Blackburn.

Chelsea(4-3-2-1):Turnbull; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry (c), Zhirkov (Kalou 73); Ballack (J Cole 62), Mikel, Lampard; Anelka, Malouda; Drogba
Booked Malouda 54, Drogba 56, Alex 82, Terry 88
Sent off Drogba 86

Inter (4-3-3): Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Zanetti (c); Cambiasso, Sneijder (Mariga 84), Motta (Materazzi 90+1); Pandev (Stankovic 74), Eto'o, Milito.
Scorers Eto'o 77
Booked Eto'o 16, Motta 47, Lucio 53, Cesar 81

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