Salomon Kalou insists Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty when he was brought down in the first half.
Chelsea outplayed Inter Milan throughout but still lost the last-16 first-leg tie 2-1 in a pulsating match at the San Siro.
Inter had taken a third-minute lead through Diego Milito only for Kalou to level in the 51st minute.
But Esteban Cambiasso restored Inter's lead four minutes later to give Jose Mourinho's side a slight edge going into the return leg at Stamford Bridge on March 16.
But it could have been so different if Chelsea had been awarded a penalty minutes before the break.
Kalou appeared to be felled by Inter defender Walter Samuel but Spanish referee Manuel Gonzalez refused Chelsea's appeals for a spot-kick.
The official was surrounded by Chelsea players at the half-time whistle and Kalou is adamant it was a clear penalty.
"It was a penalty but the referee decided it wasn't so there is not a lot you can do about it," he said.
"I felt him touch my right leg but the referee told me that I did not have control of the ball any more when he touched me.
"But I was about to shoot and if he touched me on the back of the leg it should be a penalty or he should have booked me for diving."
Chelsea will still be wondering how they lost a match in which they were far superior in all departments.
But the English club were boosted after the game when it was discovered that goalkeeper Petr Cech, stretchered off with what looked like a knee injury in the second-half, had in fact damaged his calf.
But Kalou believes his away goal could prove vital in the return leg in west London.
"It is a good feeling to have the away goal," said Kalou. "Now we have to work on that and try to score at the Bridge and not concede.
"Jose knew we were going to attack and keep the ball. But they scored at the right moments and that made the difference. We knew could control the game but we knew they could be dangerous on the break and that is what happened."
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho believes his side will travel to his former stamping ground full of confidence but admits it will be an emotional return.
"We can go there with a legitimate ambition to go through," said Mourinho.
"At Stamford Bridge, I don't expect anything other than people to be glad to have me back as we worked so well together.
"This time I will go back to a different dressing room, a different dugout but I know normally Mourinho is lucky at Stamford Bridge."
Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti saw enough from the match at the San Siro to be confident for the second leg.
"I think that what we saw tonight, we have the chance to turn it around," said the former coach of Inter's city rivals AC Milan.
"I think we played well. We leave without a positive result, but it's not an ugly one either.
"We will play to attack and win the second leg in the same way we did in this game.
"We tried to attack and score from the first to the last minute."
Meanwhile, Cech will undergo further assessment on his injury today after leaving the field on a stretcher.
The Czech Republic international collected a cross, rolled the ball out and then immediately signalled to the bench that he could not continue.
But initial fears that he had damaged knee ligaments were quashed by Ancelotti after the game.
"We have to wait and control his condition over the next few days," said Ancelotti.
"He has an injury on his calf. We cannot say now when he will return to the squad."
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