UCL Draw Thread

[edetarod 2,155]

Juventus, Atletico the teams i'd like us to avoid

[Jase 43,479]

We need to hope someone else will knock them out because I think they would beat us again. They know Costa inside out and would easily nullify him, while Cesc isn't mobile enough to deal with their pressing game and Hazard would be triple marked. That's pretty much all of our open-play attacking threats dealt with. Meanwhile our major weakness when playing a defensive system, lapses in concentration from Ivanovic and Hazard, can still be expolited in the same way - long diagonal balls. Imagine also how motivated Simeone, their players and crowd would be after we took 3 of their players. I don't see anything other than an Atletico win.

Correction! Two players...

[The Chels 2,502]

Correction! Two players...

Well technically, yes. But I'm sure they considered Courtois as one of their own.

[Jase 43,479]

Well technically, yes. But I'm sure they considered Courtois as one of their own.

Only figuratively.

[DYC. 7,542]

End of a long wait for Chelsea

Published: Thursday 4 December 2014, 9.45CET

Champions Matchday recalls Chelsea FC's debut on club football's greatest stage in 1999, 44 years after they turned down the chance to play in the inaugural European Cup.

It was a long 44 years since Chelsea FC had declined the opportunity to enter the inaugural European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1955. But having finished third behind treble winners Manchester United FC and Arsène Wenger's Arsenal FC in 1999, the Londoners finally made their first foray into the UEFA Champions League with a qualifying tie against serial Latvian champions Skonto FC.

Manager Gianluca Vialli was only 35, but he named a team crammed with leaders in the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, of his starting XI, Dan Petrescu, Didier Deschamps, Gustavo Poyet, Chris Sutton, Dennis Wise, Albert Ferrer and Gianfranco Zola would all become head coaches.

Ferrer, Deschamps and Marcel Desailly had already lifted Europe's biggest prize and nine of the squad, including the manager, had featured in Chelsea's 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph – not to mention Deschamps, Desailly and Frank Leboeuf's 1998 FIFA World Cup winners' medals.

In a way, Chelsea could be described as the most experienced debutants in European history. For Skonto, it was their fifth time in the competition. They had defeated Luxembourg's AS Jeunesse Esch 10-0 and Romania's FC Rapid Bucureşti 5-4 in the earlier rounds. Aleksandrs Starkovs was the man in charge and the visitors possessed a core of players who would feature for him in Latvia's UEFA EURO 2004 campaign – the country's only major tournament appearance.

Future Skonto chairman Vladimirs Koļeņičenko and Arsenal FC defender Igors Stepanovs were on the bench as the game kicked off in west London, but Juris Laizāns – later part of PFC CSKA Moskva's 2005 UEFA Cup-winning squad – and captain Vitālijs Astafjevs, who would earn more caps than any other European player with 167 for Latvia, both started.

The Blues had an unbeaten European home record spanning 27 matches in the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup, yet they took a while to click against the Riga-based club. Skonto were reduced to ten men after 33 minutes, but the contest remained scoreless until two substitutes combined with 14 minutes left.

Tore André Flo chested the ball to Celestine Babayaro – who five years earlier had become the youngest-ever UEFA Champions League player while at RSC Anderlecht – and the Nigerian struck low and hard into the net.

Two minutes later Poyet rounded off a fantastic passing move by curling past goalkeeper Aleksandrs Koļinko, before Sutton made it 3-0 with a smart finish on the turn – his first Chelsea goal. Afterwards Vialli said: "I'm happy with that: 3-0 is better than 2-0. We can go to Latvia with confidence."

A fortnight later in Riga he rang the changes, with six different players beginning the return leg. In front of 5,000 home fans brandishing airhorns, the English team saw out a 0-0 draw, the most notable aspect being the introduction of Carlo Cudicini, who replaced Ed de Goey late on. The Italian keeper had been on the bench for AC Milan in the 1993 final, while his father Fabio had won the tournament with the Rossoneri in 1969.

Vialli said: "We have some exciting times to look forward to." He wasn't wrong. The Blues would score 22 goals – including eight from Flo – and overcome Milan, Feyenoord, Olympique de Marseille and Galatasaray AŞ en route a thrilling 6-4 aggregate loss to FC Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

Chelsea would be back in 2003, with signings including Damien Duff, Juan Sebastián Verón and Geremi starting their first game against MŠK Žilina – heralding the dawning of a new era under Roman Abramovich.

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2190396.html?rss=2190396+End+of+a+long+wait+for+Chelsea

The club has come a long way. Barely recognised Babayaro.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Basel/Juve/PSG or Barca will be quite tough, hopefully Monaco or Shakta, maybe Roma at a push. If we had to pick a big team to play I would hope for PSG.

[cosmicway 1,260]

From today's lot only Juve is -somewhat- dangerous.

From those of tomorrow Barca or PSG are definitely strong opponents and Roma just a little.

The two English teams Arsenal and City (if they make it) are ruled out, are n't they ?

Are Sporting/Schalke also ruled out ?

[Heisenberg 1,824]

Basel/Juve/PSG or Barca will be quite tough, hopefully Monaco or Shakta, maybe Roma at a push. If we had to pick a big team to play I would hope for PSG.

Would love Juventus, need revenge.

[stroey 2,525]

So it's: Juve, Basel, Shaktar, Psg/Barca, Leverkusen, Roma/CSKA (if City doesn't qualify)

[robdog 2,084]

This run by Monaco sends me back a decade. That side put me into tears when they knocked off The Chels. I will never forget that. I guess I was too high cause CFC just beat the so-called invincibles & KOED them from UCL. Oh da memories

[Ledg 639]

The only interesting about tonight is PSG gonna win their group and Barca finishes second for the first in IDK how many years now.

They'll be a interesting opponent for every team who finished first except Real and Atletico.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Anything but Juve or Barca and I'd be pretty confident.

[Atlas Lion 1,223]

I personally hope we get Barca

[We Hate Scouse 10,261]

This run by Monaco sends me back a decade. That side put me into tears when they knocked off The Chels. I will never forget that. I guess I was too high cause CFC just beat the so-called invincibles & KOED them from UCL. Oh da memories

Poor Ranieri

[LDN Blue 7,903]

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2190396.html?rss=2190396+End+of+a+long+wait+for+Chelsea

The club has come a long way. Barely recognised Babayaro.

Tore André Flo, GOAT off the bench!

[dUMB 189]

The only interesting about tonight is PSG gonna win their group and Barca finishes second for the first in IDK how many years now.

They'll be a interesting opponent for every team who finished first except Real and Atletico.

Imagine Barca - Bayern

[robdog 2,084]

Poor Ranieri

but he does know how to build a team. We weren't left in a bad spot after he left. JM didn't have to do much to make CFC a Champion. The foundations were already in place.

[Jase 43,479]

Possible opponents in the Last 16 - Juventus, Basel, Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk.

The draw will take place on Monday (15th December) at 11am UK time.

This is also the third time Chelsea have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages without defeat in the group:

2007/08 - P6 W3 D3

2009/10 - P6 W4 D2

2014/15 - P6 W4 D2