5 of the most exciting Round of 16 ties contested by Chelsea in the Champions League

The draw for this year's Champions League Round of 16 is here.Chelsea fans are now anxiously waiting for February to come and Barcelona will also be waiting to take their revenge for 2011/12.

Unlike most teams in Europe, Chelsea have a decent record against Barcelona. In the 12 matches they have played against each other Chelsea have won 4, Barcelona have won 3 and 5 matches have ended in draws.

Their most recent encounter was the 2011/12 Champions League semi-final which Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate as they went on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.

This time Chelsea were a part of a tough group that had both Atletico Madrid and an in form AS Roma. Even then, it was widely believed that Chelsea would top their group. However, a dismal performance in Rome left them playing catch up and in the end they finished second on head-to-head with AS Roma.

With 4 groups being topped by English clubs, Chelsea could only draw one of FC Barcelona, Besiktas and Paris Saint Germain. On Monday it was decided that Chelsea would face FC Barcelona over two legs in February, pitting Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard against each other for the first time in the Uefa Champions League.

With their hopes of retaining the Premier League title almost all but over, Chelsea will now want to focus on the remaining competitions, none bigger than the Uefa Champions League.

Chelsea have been regulars in the Champions League for more than a decade now (barring the 2016/17 season) and there have been several mouth watering clashes with top teams across Europe in the round of 16. The Champions League is considered to be the pinnacle of success for European clubs and any club that wants to win it will have to face the giants of European football.

Here's a look at 5 of the most exciting encounters that Chelsea have had in the Round of 16 :-

5) Chelsea vs PSG (Agg:- 2-4) 2015/16

This was a season of turmoil for Chelsea. Jose Mourinho lost the dressing room as key players including Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa revolted against the manager, eventually leading to "The Special One" being sacked. Guus Hiddink took over as caretaker manager for the remainder of the season as he took Chelsea from near the relegation zone to 10th spot at the end of the season.

Zlatan scores the decisive goal in the return leg at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea were due to face PSG for the third time in 3 years with both the clubs winning one tie each. PSG were flying high in the League as usual, in stark contrast to Chelsea's dismal performance in the League.

The tie away at the Parc des Princes ended 2-1 in favour of PSG. A deflected goal from Zlatan and a calm finish from substitute Edinson Cavani got the goods for Paris but John Obi Mikel's goal at the stroke of half time was a silver lining for Chelsea as it got them the vital away goal.

Chelsea went into the game at Stamford Bridge full of hope of turning around their season by progressing in the Champions League.

A 16th minute goal from Adrien Rabiot deflated the Blues but then Diego Costa equalized to have some hope for the Chelsea faithful. It was not to be a night for the Blues as Zlatan scored his second goal of the tie leaving Chelsea needing 3 goals to win the tie. That always seemed unlikely, especially with Diego Costa limping off, as the tie ended 4-2 in favour of the French side.

The tie ended in defeat for Chelsea but it was one of the most exciting ties that the Blues have ever played in the Round of 16 of the Champions League.

4) Chelsea vs Juventus (Agg:- 3-2) 2008/09

Claudio Ranieri was given a grand reception as he returned to Stamford Bridge, where he had spent 4 years as manager from 2000-2004. The night wasn't to go too well for him as Didier Drogba's 14th minute strike for the Blues turned out to be all that was needed to hand Juventus their 7th consecutive loss in Champions League knockout matches. The Blues would travel to Turin with their slender one goal lead to defend.

Del Piero's penalty gave Juventus a lifeline

A myriad injury problems had affected the Old Lady's preparation and their midfield maestro Pavel Nedved was forced to miss this match. However, it started well for Juventus when Vicenzo Iaquinta wiped out Didier Drogba's goal in the 19th minute with a sublime clipped finish from a pass from David Trezeguet.

Chelsea scored the vital away goal through Michael Essien right at the stroke of half time leaving Juventus to score two goals to win the tie. Juve started the second half with renewed purpose to get those two vital goals. Chiellini was dismissed but it failed to dampen their spirit. Juliano Belleti's hand ball gave Juventus a vital penalty that Alessandro Del Piero calmly put away to set up an exciting final 15 minutes with Juventus needing another goal to win the tie.

Fortunately for the Blues, the crucial fourth goal was scored by Didier Drogba as the Blues drew the match and won the tie 3-2 on aggregate.

Chelsea went on to reach the final in Moscow where they suffered a heart breaking loss to Manchester United on penalties.

3) Chelsea vs PSG (Agg:- 3-3) 2014/15

This was the second meeting in 2 consecutive years between these two giants. The night in Paris started well for Chelsea as Branislav Ivanovic scored a header in the 36th minute from Gary Cahill's flick from John Terry's cross. The three defenders gave Chelsea the lead and more importantly, an away goal. Then Chelsea withstood wave after wave of PSG attacks, in the end conceding just one goal through Edinson Cavani. The tie ended 1-1 and the balance was slightly tilted towards Chelsea.

David Luiz scores the equalizer at Stamford Bridge

The return leg at Stamford Bridge started even more brightly for the Blues as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off as early as the 31st minute for a stamp on Oscar. The French side were now without their talismanic striker with 43 Champions League goals to his name for most of the game.

However, the Blues failed to capitalize on this advantage as their play lacked urgency and there was a sense that they were playing for a goalless draw that would send them through on away goals.

In the 82nd minute, Gary Cahill headed home from a Cesc Fabregas corner to almost ensure victory for Chelsea but former ( and future) Blue David Luiz had other ideas as he equalized in the 86th minute to take the game to extra time.

In the first half of extra time Thiago SIlva handled a high ball and Eden Hazard converted the subsequent penatly and it looked all over for Paris but the French skipper had other ideas. He scored a brilliant header to put the score at 3-3 and PSG went through courtesy of their extra away goal.

It was truly a disappointing night for the Blues. A night that started with so much promise fizzled out in the end but it was one of the most exciting matches the Blues have ever contested.

2) Chelsea vs Barcelona (Agg:- 5-4) 2004/05

Barca's attacking approach at the Camp Nou in the first leg, might have put the game to bed right at the start. However, they failed to capitalize and soon disaster struck as Belleti tried to clear a delightful pass from Damien Duff and put it into his own net.

Didier Drogba soon missed a glorious opportunity and his night went from bad to worse as he was sent off and the tide turned in favour of Barcelona. Frank Rijkaard's side came from behind to win the game 2-1 with goals from Maxi Lopez and Samuel Eto'o.

The return tie at the Bridge was one of the best nights for the Blues as Chelsea scripted an amazing comeback.

A young John Terry rises above the Barca defence to head in the winner

Eidur Gudjohnsen lined up to start in place of the suspended Didier Drogba and the move paid dividends immediately. The English side, trailing from the first leg scored 3 goals in the first 19 minutes from Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Damien Duff to grab the tie by the collar.

When Belleti's cross struck Paulo Ferreira in the arm, Barca were handed a lifeline as Ronaldinho converted the penalty to take the tie to 4-3 on aggregate.Then Ronaldinho showed his class as he outfoxed Petr Cech with a drive from outside the box to shift the balance back in favour of Barcelona. Now Barcelona were in the driving seat with two away goals.

But Chelsea's "Captain, Leader, Legend" John Terry had other ideas as he headed in the ball 14 minutes from time to send Stamford Bridge into a frenzy as the Blues held on to win the tie 5-4 on aggregate.

1) Chelsea vs Napoli (Agg- 5-4) 2011/12

This tie is consistently ranked among the best comebacks ever in the history of the Champion's League.

Chelsea FC v SSC Napoli - UEFA Champions League Round of 16

In the first leg in Naples, Juan Mata gave Chelsea the lead against the run of play in the 27th minutes but then Napoli staged a comeback with 2 goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and one from Edinson Cavani to give them a 3-1 lead.

Chelsea were going through a tumultuous period with Andres Villas-Boas at the helm. Soon after this match, he was sacked following a defeat to West Brom. Roberto Di Matteo was given the position of caretaker manager in the meantime.

In the return leg at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea staged one of the best comebacks ever in world football.

Didier Drogba scored in the first half and John Terry scored soon after the break to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead. If it remained that way, Chelsea would go through on away goals.

However, Gokhan Inler had other plans as he dispatched a stunning half volley into the bottom corner. The game was on at 2-1 and Chelsea were back to chasing the tie.

In the 75th minute, Andreas Dossena handled the ball in the box and Chelsea were awarded a penalty that Frank Lampard put away with ease to send the match to extra time.

At the 105th minute Didier Drogba showed brilliant composure and skill, to send in a cross from the right flank that Branislav Ivanovic rammed into the net to take the score to 4-1 and the aggregate score to 5-4 in Chelsea's favour, The scoreline stayed the same as Chelsea completed one of the most memorable comebacks in Uefa Champions League history.

Chelsea went on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history in Munich to become the first club from London to ever win the Champions League.