Chelsea manager Avram Grant and his Schalke 04 counterpart Mirko Slomka can sleep a little easier after both their sides reached the Champions League quarter finals.

Grant - who has been under fire for his selection policy at the League Cup final defeat by Spurs which saw The Blues produce an insipid display - was never in trouble yesterday as Chelsea breezed to a 3-0 win over Greek side Olympiakos to win 3-0 on aggregate.

While Grant has not been publicly criticised by his club owner Roman Abramovich - the two are close friends - Slomka has not been so lucky with club president Josef Schnusenberg being his biggest critic.

However, Schalke’s penalty shootout victory over former champions Porto in Oporto - the match ending 1-1 on aggregate after the hosts scored in the dying minutes to ‘win’ the second leg - and making the last eight of the competition for the first time in their history will earn Slomka some breathing space.

However, Schalke apart from heroics by 21-year-old ‘keeper Manuel Neuer, will have earned few new friends as their negativity in extra-time against a 10-man Porto was in stark contrast to the attacking football of the 2004 Champions League winners.

Scoresheet

Real Madrid 1-2 (Agg 2-4) AS Roma

Raul Gonzales (75) Taddei (73)

Mirko Vucinic (90)

Chelsea 3-0 (Agg 3-0) Olympiakos

Michael Ballack (5)

Frank Lampard (25)

Solomon Kalou (49)

Porto 1-0 (Agg 1-1) Schalke

Lisandro Lopez (86)

Schalke won tie 4-1 on penalties