Jose Mourinho made a triumphant return to Stamford Bridge to dump his former club out of the Champions League on Wednesday morning and remind Roman Abramovich of the mistake he made by kicking him out of the club.
Inter, leading 2-1 from the opening leg of this last-16 tie in the San Siro, secured its place in the last eight when Samuel Eto'o scored the winner at Stamford Bridge in the 78th minute to hand the visitors a 3-1 win on aggregate.
Chelsea's campaign ended in more misery when Didier Drogba was sent off in the 87th minute for a crude moment of petulance, appearing to stamp on Thiago Motta.
Mourinho, who never lost a home league game during his time as manager at Chelsea, had begun the evening with a low-profile entry from the tunnel and into his dugout seat.
Chelsea fans responded with warm applause but Mourinho refrained from hogging the limelight. He knew he and his team had a job to do.
Mourinho had cleverly picked an attacking side with Eto'o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev up front, and his plan worked superbly.
Meanwhile, CSKA Moscow reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a spirited 2-1 away victory over Sevilla to hand the Russian outfit a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
Neither side had previously managed to progress from the last 16 heading into the second leg and after a 1-1 draw in the first match in Moscow, Sevilla was regarded as favourite having secured an away goal.
However Tomas Necid stole the lead for CSKA late in the first half to cancel out the hosts' away goal, only for Diego Perotti to drag Sevilla level almost immediately.
Keisuke Honda's powerful free kick saw CSKA through as Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop made a mess of what should have been a straightforward save in the 55th minute.
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 (Second Leg)
Chelsea 0 (1 agg)
Internazionale 1 (3 agg) (Eto'o 78)
Sevilla FC 1 (2 agg) (Perotti 41)
CSKA Moscow 2 (3 agg) (Necid 38, Honda 55)