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Cup classics
It's been six years since the Clasico stranglehold of the Champions League was last relinquished, but England and Germany have nevertheless produced some of the finest winners that the competition has seen.
This year’s last-16 draw produced three Premier League vs Bundesliga clashes, with Liverpool facing Bayern, Tottenham coming up against Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City taking on Schalke. Can those ties live up to the following classic England vs Germany knockout clashes of the Champions League era?
April 2002: Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Manchester United (3-3 agg; semi-final)
After falling to German opposition at the quarter-final stage a year earlier, Manchester United’s hopes of being crowned champions of Europe were again ended by Bundesliga opposition when Leverkusen secured a place in the final at their expense on away goals.
A 2-2 draw in the first leg at Old Trafford had put Bayer in a good position, but Roy Keane’s opening goal just before the half-hour mark ensured they would have their work cut out.
Oliver Neuville was again the thorn in United’s side, scoring an equaliser in first-half injury time having also got Leverkusen's leveller in the first leg. It was enough to send Bayer through to the final at Hampden Park, where they were undone by Real Madrid courtesy of Zinedine Zidane's wonder strike.
October 1992: Stuttgart 1-2 Leeds United (First-round play-off)
Things were looking rosy for Stuttgart after a 3-0 first-leg win over Leeds in the inaugural Champions League campaign, but in the return clash at Elland Road, the reigning champions mounted an impressive comeback to win 4-1. That meant they fell agonisingly short on away goals – or so they thought.
Barcelona’s Camp Nou was chosen as a neutral venue on a Friday night and 20,000 filed in to watch the Yorkshiremen win 2-1 – but their run came to an end against Rangers in the next round.
May 2011: Manchester United 4-1 Schalke 04 (6-1 agg; semi-final)
With a Wembley final at stake and a 2-0 away victory in the first leg as a cushion, United managed to avoid any banana skins with a comfortable semi-final victory against a Schalke side that had shocked Inter Milan a round earlier.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side never looked in danger of surrendering their advantage despite making eight changes from the team that lost to Arsenal in the Premier League three days earlier, with goals from Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson and a brace from Anderson ensuring that Jose Manuel Jurado’s strike was nothing more than a consolation.
It gave the Red Devils a chance to get revenge for their 2009 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side in the Rome final, but they were beaten again as man-of-the-match Lionel Messi inspired the Catalans to a 3-1 victory in London.
May 2012: Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea (3-4 pens; final)
Chelsea celebrated their first Champions League triumph after a stunning penalty shootout win on Bayern Munich’s home turf of the Allianz Arena.
Thomas Muller put the dominant Germans in front with seven minutes remaining, but Didier Drogba’s header at the death took the game to extra time, where Petr Cech dramatically saved a spot-kick by former Blues winger Arjen Robben.
April 1997: Manchester United 0-1 Borussia Dortmund (0-2 agg; semi-final)
One of the tournament’s most surprising winners, a Dortmund side featuring the likes of Paul Lambert, Matthias Sammer and Karl-Heinz Riedle didn’t have an easy ride to the trophy, overcoming United before their stunning final victory against Juventus.
Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side were two-time German champions and therefore not exactly minnows, but they certainly weren’t considered to be among the frontrunners for European glory.
March 2017: Arenal 1-5 Bayern Munich (2-10 agg; last 16)
A chastening night at the Emirates sent Arsenal out of the Champions League last 16 for the seventh consecutive season, with all five of Bayern’s goals coming in the second half. They'd already smashed the same amount past a hapless Gunners side in the first leg.
Arsenal had a four-goal deficit to make up and their slim hopes were boosted when Theo Walcott put them in front within 20 minutes, but they collapsed following Laurent Koscielny’s controversial 53rd-minute red card.
It was Arsenal’s biggest home loss since November 1998, and the heaviest aggregate defeat suffered by an English side in the Champions League. To make matters worse, it was the third time in five years that they'd fallen at this stage to Bayern, having gone out on away goals in 2012/13 before losing 3-1 on aggregate the following season.
May 1999: Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich (Final)
One of the greatest moments in Manchester United’s history also made for one of the most memorable Champions League finals of all time.
Mario Basler’s early strike put Bayern in the driving seat to secure a Treble, and even the most optimistic Red Devils wouldn't have predicted what was to come as the game entered second-half stoppage time with the score still 1-0.
First Teddy Sheringham stabbed in an equaliser, before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stuck an instinctive leg out to meet Sheringham’s header minutes later and score a winner that turned the game on its head. Stunned Bayern players lay strewn across the Camp Nou turf in disbelief as the final whistle blew.
April 2001: Bayern Munich 2-1 Manchester United (3-1 agg; quarter-final)
Bayern got revenge for United’s stunning final victory two years earlier by beating Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in both legs of their quarter-final clash.
Even the introduction of Teddy Sheringham, who had made such an impact from the bench in their meeting two years earlier, couldn’t stop Bayern from avenging that painful last-gasp defeat in Barcelona.
April 2005: Bayern Munich 3-2 Chelsea (5-6 agg; quarter-final)
With Jose Mourinho watching on from his hotel room as he sat out a two-match ban, his players managed to finish the job they'd started with a 4-2 first-leg victory at Stamford Bridge, despite losing on the night in Munich.
Frank Lampard put the Blues in front before Claudio Pizarro levelled, but Didier Drogba’s header then proved decisive despite late goals from Paolo Guerrero and Mehmet Scholl for the hosts.
April 2010: Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich (4-4 agg; quarter-final)
Arjen Robben’s spectacular late volley was enough to send Bayern through at Old Trafford on away goals after a thrilling two-legged tie between the old European rivals.
United had work to do after losing 2-1 in Bavaria in the first leg, but they seemed set to reach a third consecutive Champions League final when a wonderful start put them 3-0 up within 41 minutes thanks to a Darron Gibson goal and Nani’s double.
