5 jinxed fixtures in Champions League history

Messi Drogba Barcelona Chelsea

The Champions League is almost upon us, and there has been a lot of steam generated in recent weeks about what could happen this season as the most elite club competition gears up once again for what’s expected to be one of the best yet.Barcelona will attempt to become the first team to successfully defend their continental crown, albeit with a suspect defence, while their rivals will look to arrest them in their tracks. All across the board there will be intriguing narratives unfolding and drama developing.The groups have been decided. The players know their tasks. The managers have their objectives.All that remains to be seen now is how it will all pan out, but whatever happens it certainly promises to be hugely entertaining to say the least as some of the matches from days gone by clearly attest to.With that, let’s take a nostalgic look back at some of the fixtures which have continuously popped up down through the years.

#1 Barcelona vs Chelsea

Messi Drogba Barcelona Chelsea

Since the 1999/2000 season, Barcelona and Chelsea have met as many as 12 times in Europe’s elite club competition, forming a formidable rivalry in the process. A recurring fixture, it’s formed part of the fascinating fabric that the Champions League has become.

Over the years, there have been some truly memorable match-ups with both clubs experiencing their fair share of joy and despair. Often billed as a clash of one of football’s oldest establishments versus Europe’s new money men, there has never been a lack of intriguing stories to pull from whenever these two have met, often playing with skill, class and poise.

No doubt, many will remember Ronaldinho’s unique wonder-goal against the Blues at Stamford Bridge back in March, 2005 where he produced yet another moment of genius to flash the ball past Petr Cech with apparently zero back-lift, mesmerising the frozen defence as he did so. That entertaining clash ended 4-2 with Roman Abramovich’s club emerging victorious on an aggregate score-line of 5-4.

In total, there have been 36 goals scored in modern day European contests between this pair and rarely has there been a lack of drama, excitement or controversy whenever they’ve met. In their 12 meetings, though Chelsea have won four games with three in Barcelona’s favour and five draws, while both sides are evenly matched in terms of winning the tie over two legs with Barcelona matching Chelsea’s tally of progressing three times.

Will we see them cross paths once again in the 2015/16 season? Let’s hope so.

#2 AC Milan vs Barcelona

Ronaldinho AC Milan Barcelona

This particular match has taken place as many as 15 times since the European Cup saw its make-up shaken and stirred towards the beginning of the 1990s.

Interestingly, the first encounter took place in the showpiece final back in 1994 when the Rossoneri shocked the favourites with a 4-0 thumping to take home “big ears” in Athens. Milan were supposed to approach the tie with their typically defensive mindset. Instead, they blew the Blaugrana away with one of their most offensively fluid performances to date.

Since then, a healthy rivalry has developed and there have been so many snapshots of sublime football – not least Alexandre Pato’s wondergoal back in 2011. However, it’s Barca who have kicked on since that victory, winning as many as four UCL titles, while the Serie A outfit have won it just twice, and the last time they did it was eight years ago.

The Catalan club even have an upper hand in the head-to-head as they lost to the Italian side only on four occasions in the competition when they've come up against each other at various stages of the UCL, however, the Rossoneri importantly have one win in the final among those four.

Unfortunately, we won’t see this match occur anytime soon as Milan are not involved in the tournament this year, having failed to qualify, something that could very well turn into a recurring occurrence as the seasons roll by.

As for the Catalans, they will be aiming to make yet more history this year, but it’s not going to be an easy undertaking at all, even with their much-loved MSN strike-force leading the line.

#3 Manchester United vs Bayern Munich

Bayern Manchester United

Another fixture which has cropped up on lots of occasions has been the meeting of the Red Devils and Die Roten. In total the two clubs have played each other 11 times since the competition was re-branded back in 1992.

Meeting regularly, their fixture has become an institution in itself, contorting into so many different strands and meanings each and every time it comes about.

Of course, the only time they ever played each other in the final was back in 1999, when United ripped a devastating loss from the jaws of defeat thanks to some heroics in the final two minutes from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, despite being without the talismanic duo of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.

Historically, Bayern have been the better of the two sides but only narrowly winning four games compared to United’s two, while the match has ended in a draw on five occasions.

Most recently, of course, a quarter-final clash during the 2013/14 instalment saw the 13-time Premier League champions lose 4-2 on aggregate, underlining just how much the English team’s fortunes have changed in Europe while the Germans have continued to maintain their place as a continental superpower.

#4 Real Madrid vs Juventus

Juventus Real Madrid Champions League

Meeting as recently as 2015 in the semi-final where the Bianconeri emerged victorious over two legs to reach the final (ultimately losing to Barcelona), the on-field feud between these two remains as fresh as it was when it started back in the 1995/96 campaign, despite having engaged in battle as many as 13 times.

The only time these two clubs contested the final against each other was back at the culmination of the campaign on the road to Amsterdam over 17 years ago, a match which the Madridistas win 1-0, despite the fact that it was Juventus striker Alessandro Del Piero who finished as the tournament’s top scorer.

Madrid have taken home the European Cup/Champions League as many as 10 times, while Juve have only managed it twice so there is clearly a real gap between just how adept the two outfits are at completing such a massive accomplishment. In short, history has often favoured the Spaniards.

Although, quite bizarrely, the Italians have won more games (6) than Real Madrid (5) but often they lose out over the tie as a whole. The meeting is usually quite action-packed and decisive as they only finished in a draw twice in all their meetings.

Nevertheless, there is always an intriguing battle on show whenever these two come face-to-face with each other, and with both teams vying to get back on top in Europe again this season, there are sure to be enthralling fireworks on show as per normal should they meet along the way to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, where the final is set to be held.

#5 Arsenal vs Bayern Munich

Robben Flamini Arsenal Bayern Munich

This hasn’t happened nearly as often as the other fixtures on our list, but in recent seasons it has cropped up pretty regularly. In fact, they battled in 2012/2013 and again in 2013/2014 – both in the last 16.

Indeed, with the two clubs set to clash at least twice this season, the trend will continue, this time in the group stages. Of course, it’s no wonder the Gunners feature on our list having qualified for the competition for the last 17 years. Unfortunately, they have never won it – a failure that continues to haunt them.

Having lost in the last 16 quite regularly (for the past five seasons, in fact), the most recent defeats have come at the hands of Bayern, incidentally.

This time around, Arsene Wenger will be hoping for better luck against the Bundesliga champions, while Pep Guardiola will be eager to hit them hard again, if only to send out a real signal to the rest of Europe.

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Edited by Staff Editor