Chelsea FC, having been beaten in the last two UEFA Champions League semi-finals, have the clear objective of taking their run a stage further this season. The Premiership champions are again among the favourites and after elimination by Liverpool FC last season will now meet their rivals again in Group G.
RSC Anderlecht have different reasons for wanting a successful campaign. Last season, the Brussels club joined a small band of teams to have lost all six group games. However, Anderlecht came through a potentially difficult third qualifying round tie with SK Slavia Praha with a 4-1 aggregate win, to give a boost to their confidence for the group stage.
There was a possibility that these clubs might have met in the first European Champion Clubs’ Cup event 50 years ago; Anderlecht took part in the first edition in 1955/56, but Chelsea, the English champions, were not allowed to enter. Half a century on, and this is their first meeting.
Chelsea have played in two previous ties against Belgian teams, in both instances against Club Brugge KV in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, with the London club winning through on both occasions.
The first tie took place in 1970/71 when Club Brugge recorded a 2-0 home win. The return leg at Stamford Bridge found Chelsea in top form and two goals from Peter Osgood, plus one each from Peter Houseman and Tommy Baldwin, took Chelsea through. The Blues went on to beat Real Madrid CF 2-1 in the replayed final.
The second encounter in 1994/95 followed a similar pattern with Club Brugge winning the home leg 1-0 thanks to a Gert Verheyen goal; but Chelsea scored twice in the first half of the return leg through Mark Stein and Paul Furlong to progress. Chelsea were eliminated in the semi-finals by Real Zaragoza.
Anderlecht have twice been drawn with English teams in the UEFA Champions League. In the 2000/01 first group stage, they were pitted against Manchester United FC. The Old Trafford leg was won by United 5-1, thanks to an Andrew Cole hat-trick, but Anderlecht won the return game 2-1 with two goals from Tomasz Radzinski. Anderlecht topped the group and met Leeds United AFC in the second group stage.
Leeds won at Elland Road 2-1, and then gave a fine performance in the return leg in Brussels, where an Alan Smith double paved the way towards a 4-1 win, with Leeds going on to reach the semi-finals.
They also played English opposition in the 1956/57 edition of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the forerunner to the Champions League. It was a harrowing experience for the Belgian side when they were drawn against Manchester United in the preliminary round. United won 2-0 in Brussels, but in the return at Maine Road, home of their Manchester City FC neighbours, United won 10-0 with four goals for Dennis Viollet and a hat-trick from Tommy Taylor.
Anderlecht have met English clubs in two of their UEFA finals. The 1976 Cup Winners' Cup was won with a fluent display in a 4-2 win against West Ham United FC, but Tottenham Hotspur FC prevailed on penalties after two 1-1 draws in the final of the 1984 UEFA Cup. But the draw was an achievement for Anderlecht, it is the only time in eleven visits to England that they have avoided defeat, with a goal difference of 5-34.
...get back to robinho 