How Chelsea rated I How Liverpool rated I Chelsea give Anfield the Blues I Liverpool on the ropes after Ivanovic one-two I Hiddink shows the way to beat Liverpool I Cascarino: Chelsea's ambition surprised everyone I Mourinho's pupils produce something extra special I Ivanovic: an unlikely hero emerges from the shadows I Graphic: how Essien kept Gerrard quiet I Graphic: how Chelsea exposed Liverpool's zonal marking

Guus Hiddink praised his players’ “incredible” performance last night after Chelsea stunned Liverpool with a 3-1 win at Anfield that makes them overwhelming favourites to progress to the Champions League semi-finals for the fifth time in six years.

A brace of headers from an unlikely source — Branislav Ivanovic, their Serbia defender — put Chelsea on top after Fernando Torres had given Liverpool a first-leg lead, before Didier Drogba confirmed their dominance with a goal from close range.

Hiddink admitted that inflicting Liverpool’s heaviest home defeat in Europe’s premier club competition had exceeded his wildest expectations, but insisted that the tie is not over. The only blemish on a perfect night for Chelsea was a booking for John Terry that rules their captain out of the second leg.

“It’s unexpected, to be honest, but I think well deserved,” Hiddink said. “We always go out there to score, but to get three is incredible. Liverpool have shown already in the past they can do remarkable things, so we cannot yet believe it is done. To play Liverpool at Anfield is always a hard job so we were very happy with this result. We started sloppily, but we know we can score. That confidence, even at 1-0 down, was in the team.

“It was good to see the team going on when we had the equaliser. Normally teams would be happy with this result at Anfield, but the team felt they could do more, so we had to go for the second goal.”

Hiddink has excelled in re-establishing Chelsea’s challenge after inheriting an underperforming squad from Luiz Felipe Scolari in February and the interim manager, who insists that he will leave in the summer to concentrate on his role as Russia coach, is confident that the team will continue to fight on all fronts.

The Dutchman lavished praise on Ivanovic, who was making only his second Champions League appearance for the club. “He’s a very determined guy,” Hiddink said. “Of course, when you are signed by Chelsea and you’re not playing frequently, it’s not easy. But one of the things he did was he kept on training, with a very good mentality. He’s a very determined player and it shows at a big club, if you keep working, you can succeed.

“We have to be realistic regarding the Premier League, but I’m happy with the way the team is reacting and fighting.”

Rafael Benítez looked shell-shocked by the end and conceded that it would be a struggle to lift his demoralised players for their Barclays Premier League match at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. “To lose any game is always difficult, but especially in this competition,” the Liverpool manager said. “Everyone was saying we had a chance, but we have to forget as soon as possible. The priority now is Blackburn. We have to win there, then afterwards we’ll think about how we will approach Chelsea. We will try to do our best.”

Whoever emerges victorious at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday will almost certainly face Barcelona in the semi-finals after the Spanish side destroyed Bayern Munich 4-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final at the Nou Camp, Thierry Henry getting one of their goals.