Champions League: The 9 Times English Clubs Have Faced Off in The Knockout Stages

The Champions League quarter-finals have afforded Spurs the opportunity to save some face, after falling irrecoverably behind Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League title race - as they face City next month with a semi-final place at stake. 

The tie will mark the tenth time English sides have squared off in the competition's latter stages, and only the third occurrence in the last ten seasons, but it comes as no surprise given that half of the eight sides hail from the Premier League - with Liverpool and Manchester United also joining the party. 

So, with one all-English tie and the potential for another in the semis, here's a look back at the nine other ties that have graced the competition. 


Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea (2-3 agg.) 2003/04

Chelsea's Joe Cole (L) is pursued by Ars

​Arsenal might have gone unbeaten in their canter to the 2003/04 ​Premier League title, but it was their distant runners up ​Chelsea​ who prevented the season from being even more memorable in the quarter-finals.

With the tie perfectly poised at 2-2 after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, it was Wayne Bridge of all people who popped up to sink the 'Invincibles', and send Claudio Ranieri's Blues on their way to eventual semi-final defeat against Monaco.


Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (1-0 agg.) 2004/05

Luis Garcia,John Terry

One year later, Chelsea would edge out Bayern Munich to make the semi-finals yet again, but this time it saw Rafa Benitez go head to head with Jose Mourinho for the first time in Europe - and it was the Spaniard who would just about come out on top. 

A solitary Luis Garcia strike in the opening minutes of the second leg at Anfield ensured the Reds secured passage at the Blues' expense, kicking off a long, arduous history of the sides meeting in Europe.

It was perhaps the most forgettable of the all-English ties - for everyone but ​Liverpool, that is, who went on to famously lift the trophy in Istanbul.


Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal (5-3 agg.) 2007/08

UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Liverpool v Arsenal

Liverpool quite liked a tie against another English side in the Champions League back in the day, and an Anfield late show against Arsenal in 2008 will no doubt go down as one of their favourites.

​They looked set to be heading out on away goals after an Emanuel Adebayor tap-in cancelled out Fernando Torres' fantastic strike, but with the score at 3-3 on aggregate, a Steven Gerrard penalty and a Ryan Babel strike sent the Reds through yet again. 

What followed, however, wasn't as fun. 


Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool (4-3 agg.) 2007/08

Liverpool footballer John Arne Riise (R)

​Chelsea exacted a measure of revenge over Rafa Benitez's Reds three years on from their semi-final exit in 2005, edging a remarkable back-and-forth tie with an impressive victory at Stamford Bridge.


​Having drawn 1-1 at Anfield, the favour was returned after 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge, and extra time was required to separate two of the Premier League's top dogs at the time. 

After Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba looked to have put it to bed after 105 minutes, however, and the Blues were able to weather a further strike from Ryan Babel, and the subsequent Liverpool onslaught.


Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 pens) 2007/08

Manchester United's Dutch goalkeeper Edw

​For all their semi-final heroics, however, Chelsea's run to the final ended in despondence, as ​Manchester United clinched the trophy on penalties.

The game itself was a nervy affair, with Frank Lampard cancelling out a Cristiano Ronaldo header shortly before half-time, and the two sides ultimately couldn't be separated from open play. 

A shoot-out brimming with drama inevitably followed, and after John Terry famously slipped and botched a would-be winning penalty, Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka to ensure it was a famous night for the Red Devils.


Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool (7-5 agg.) 2008/09

Liverpool's Spanish defender Álvaro Arbe

Semi-final defeat against Barcelona awaited Chelsea after once again ousting Liverpool in Europe, but the second leg of this one at Stamford Bridge will forever be remembered as one of the competition's great matches. 

After a spectacular first half saw Liverpool cut a 3-1 deficit down to just away goals, a disastrous start to the second half Chelsea score twice to level it up on the night, and a further strike from Lampard should really have buried it. That was just the start, however, as Liverpool refused to lie down. 

Goals from Lucas Leiva and Dirk Kuyt within a minute of each other left the Reds just one goal from progress for the last ten minutes, and Stamford Bridge was on edge until Frank Lampard put it to bed for good on 90 minutes.


Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United (1-4 agg.) 2008/09

Manchester United's Portuguese midfielde

Three out of the four semi finalists in 2009 were English, so it's only natural that Barcelona went on to win the competition. 

Battling it out for the right to be shown up by the Catalan giants, however, were Manchester United and Arsenal, and in truth it was a straightforward victory for Alex Ferguson's men. 

Having recorded a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford, a casual 40-yard free-kick from Ronaldo had United 3-0 up on aggregate after 11 minutes at the Emirates. Ronaldo added a further strike on the hour mark, and Robin van Persie's late penalty paled into insignificance. 


Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea (3-1 agg.) 2010/11

Chelsea's Spanish striker Fernando Torre

The prevailing narrative in the second leg of this quarter-final was Carlo Ancelotti's decision to drop Didier Drogba for £50m January signing Fernando Torres. Like most incidents involving Torres at Stamford Bridge, it misfired spectacularly, and he was hooked at half-time with his side trailing 0-0.

A combative second half saw Didier Drogba salvage some hope for his side off the bench, but Park Ji-Sung's immediate reply put Chelsea - reduced to ten men after Ramires' red card - away.


Manchester City 1-2 Liverpool (1-5 agg.) 2017/18

Mohamed Salah,Roberto Firmino

That all brings us up to a little over one year ago, when then-Premier League leaders Manchester City were faced with an English opponent in Europe for the first time.

They knew they'd be in for a tough tie with Jurgen Klopp's side, who had previously taken them apart at Anfield to end their unbeaten run in the league, but they certainly weren't prepared to be blown away over the two legs in the manner they were. 

Goals from Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane had Liverpool leading within half an hour of the first leg, and though City threatened a comeback when they scored within two minutes in the return fixture at the Etihad, goals from Salah and Roberto Firmino in the second half left the English champions-elect in their dust.


Source : 90min