Manchester United v Chelsea: Champions League match facts
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
- The head-to-head record between the clubs in all competitions is 68 wins for United, 44 for Chelsea and 47 draws.
- Their 2008 UEFA Champions League final meeting is classed as a draw. After Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard swapped first-half goals, Didier Drogba was sent off in the 116th-minute, and United prevailed 6-5 in the penalty shootout. United's Carlos Tevez, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson and Ryan Giggs scored their penalties, as did Chelsea's Michael Ballack, Juliano Belletti, Lampard, Ashley Cole and Salomon Kalou. Ronaldo and Chelsea's Terry and Nicolas Anelka failed with their kicks, Edwin van der Sar's save from the latter securing United's triumph.
- The teams have met three times this season already. United won 3-1 in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on August 8, Antonio Valencia, Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov scoring. Kalou replied for Chelsea. Chelsea came from behind to beat United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on March 1. Wayne Rooney put the visitors ahead but David Luiz's first Chelsea goal and Lampard's penalty turned the tables before United lost Nemanja Vidic to a 90th-minute red card. United gained the upper-hand in this tie as Wayne Rooney gave them a 1-0 win in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
- Chelsea won the clubs' last Old Trafford encounter 2-1 on April 3 last year. Joe Cole and Drogba put the visitors two up before a late reply by United's Federico Macheda. The result proved pivotal to the Premier League title race – Chelsea finishing a single point above United in the final standings.
- United's overall home record against Chelsea is 33 wins to 19 defeats with 24 draws.
- Of 11 meetings in Manchester since 2001, United have won five and Chelsea four with two draws.
- The first encounter between the clubs was an English second division fixture at United's former Bank Street home on Christmas Day 1905, which finished goalless. United were 4-2 victors in the first fixture between the sides at Old Trafford on 26 December 1912 – 24 hours after a 4-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.
MATCH BACKGROUND
- Chelsea are seeking a sixth UEFA Champions League semi-final appearance in eight seasons while United are bidding for a fourth in five seasons.
- Chelsea's quarter-final record in the competition is five wins and one defeat. United have won 11 and lost five at this stage, and went down on away goals to Bayern Munich 12 months ago.
- With their 2-0 victory at FC Copenhagen in the round of 16, Chelsea have won three of four away games in this season's UEFA Champions League. United, 2-1 winners against Marseille at Old Trafford in the last 16, have won two and drawn two at home.
- Chelsea have more experience of all-English encounters than United, having featured in six previous two-legged ties. The Blues have won four of them, beating Manchester City in the 1970/71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final, Arsenal in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League quarter-final, and Liverpool in both the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League semi-final and the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
- United won both their previous all-English European two-legged ties. They beat holders Tottenham Hotspur in the first round of the 1963/64 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, overturning a 2-0 first-leg loss with a 4-1 victory at Old Trafford. United also beat Arsenal home (1-0) and away (3-1) in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
- United also beat Arsenal home (1-0) and away (3-1) in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
- United have progressed in all 13 UEFA competition ties where they won the first game away from home, most recently against AC Milan in last season's round of 16 (3-2 away, 4-0 home). That includes only one 1-0 away win, at Lille in the 2006/07 round of 16, which preceded another 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.
- Chelsea, meanwhile, have lost the home first leg only once before in UEFA competition, going down 2-1 against FC Barcelona in the 2005/06 round of 16 and being eliminated after a 1-1 second-leg draw.
- Only twice in the UEFA Champions League era – Inter Milan's triumph at Bayern Munich in this season's last-16 (0-1 home, 3-2 away) and the 1995/96 semi-finals, when Ajax recovered from losing 1-0 at home to Panathinaikos with a 3-0 away triumph – has a team turned round a tie after a home first-leg defeat.
UEFA MILESTONES AND STATS
- United have scored 295 goals in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, and 499 in UEFA competition.
- Aged 37 years and 128 days, Ryan Giggs became the oldest United UEFA Champions League player in the first leg against Chelsea. He was nine days older than Laurent Blanc when the latter played against Deportivo La Coruna in March 2003.
- United have scored (10) and conceded (2) fewer goals than any other quarter-finalist.
- The English side have collected six yellow cards, the lowest total in the competition.
CHELSEA
- The first leg was Chelsea's 100th game in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final.
- Chelsea have had 87 shots wide, more than any other team ahead of the quarter-final first legs.
- The Blues have been caught offside 41 times, more than any other team still in the competition.
- Nicolas Anelka has been flagged offside 13 times, the joint most of any player still involved along with Luiz Adriano.
- John Obi Mikel, Ramires, Fernando Torres and Yuri Zhirkov will incur a suspension with their next bookings.
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