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Fernando Torres, Chelsea beat Basel, into Europa League final

Fernando Torres (left) and Eden Hazard celebrate Torres' goal against Basel.

Fernando Torres (left) and Eden Hazard celebrate Torres' goal against Basel.

Chelsea advanced to the final of the Europa League, beating Basel 3-1 Thursday night for a 5-2 aggregate win as Fernando Torres scored one goal and set up another.

A year after winning the Champions League, Chelsea will play Benfica at Amsterdam on May 15 in the final of Europe's second-tier club tournament, Benfica won 3-1 at home against Turkey's Fenerbahce to advance on 3-2 aggregate in the home-and-home, total-goals series.

Basel threatened a comeback when Mohamed Salah put the Swiss team ahead in first-half injury time. Torres scored in the 50th minute and helped set up Victor Moses' goal in the 52nd. David Luiz curled in a shot from outside the penalty area in the 59th.

The Europa League, known as the UEFA Cup before 2010, is the only major title Chelsea has not won.

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