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<\/p>\nWhen Chelsea first hosted a Champions League qualifier in August 1999, their situation was rather different.<\/p>\n
They were newbies to the competition, having never competed in the European Cup before it was reformatted in 1992, and they had to work their way past Latvian side Skonto Riga to play in the competition proper. But after their 3-0 aggregate win over Skonto, their journey began.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday night, Ajax visit Stamford Bridge. It will mark Chelsea\u2019s 200th fixture in the competition proper. And it is a journey that has taken in two Champions League trophy wins, three different sets of owners, countless managers, and one \u2018ghost goal\u2019.<\/p>\n
To mark the moment, The Athletic has asked its Chelsea writers, people who\u2019ve covered Chelsea games, and Chelsea-adjacent contributors for their standout Chelsea Champions League memories\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea \u2014 April 24, 2012<\/p>\n
Chelsea were down to 10 men, had just fallen 2-0 behind (losing 2-1 on aggregate) a few minutes before the interval, and were facing one of the greatest teams ever seen. Playing at centre-back were right-backs Branislav Ivanovic and Jose Bosingwa.<\/p>\n
I remember joking high up in the press box, \u201cAll Chelsea have to do now is score and they will go through on away goals.\u201d Seconds later, Ramires chipped Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes to silence most of the Camp Nou.<\/p>\n
Chelsea\u2019s rearguard action against Lionel Messi & Co was truly astonishing. Yes, luck was required, but so was grit and determination. Fernando Torres waltzing around Valdes late on simply provided the icing on the cake.<\/p>\n
This was not just one of the most extraordinary results in Chelsea\u2019s history, but by any British club.<\/p>\n
Simon Johnson, Chelsea correspondent<\/p>\n
Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona \u2014 May 6, 2009<\/p>\n
For a time, it felt like Chelsea were cursed in the Champions League. After semi-final defeats at Monaco in 2004 and Liverpool in 2005 and 2007, and the agony of the Moscow final in 2008, perhaps the most bitter pill of them all was the dramatic and highly controversial semi-final defeat by Barcelona in 2009.<\/p>\n
As a frenetic second leg at Stamford Bridge entered stoppage time, I filed a match report lauding Chelsea\u2019s remarkable performance in overcoming a brilliant Barcelona team \u2014 Xavi, Iniesta, Messi et al \u2014 and referee Tom Henning Ovrebo\u2019s\u2026 erm \u2026 eccentric refereeing decisions, to reach the final, having held on superbly after Michael Essien\u2019s early goal.<\/p>\n
And then, with almost the last kick of the game, Iniesta scored an away goal that turned the tie on its head, sending Barcelona to the final and sending Chelsea\u2019s players \u2014 most notably Didier Drogba \u2014 into a rage at the Norwegian referee who had rejected a series of penalty appeals.<\/p>\n
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\n Drogba confronts Ovrebo after the final whistle (AMA\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
That sense of pandemonium spread to the press box, where we were left frantically rewriting our match reports with first-edition deadlines looming. It was one of those nights that scrambles the minds of players, fans and reporters alike \u2014 and quite clearly referees, too.<\/p>\n
Oliver Kay, senior writer<\/p>\n
Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea \u2014 May 29, 2021<\/p>\n
This Champions League final did not follow the script. It was supposed to be a fairytale ending to Sergio Aguero\u2019s Manchester City career and the coronation of the Pep Guardiola juggernaut.<\/p>\n
With Chelsea having only four months under the leadership of new manager Thomas Tuchel, this final was supposed to come just too soon. They were not meant to win.<\/p>\n
Instead, Kai Havertz netted the winner from Mason Mount\u2019s defence-splitting pass, City\u2019s first European title had to wait, and after all that, Tuchel was sacked less than 18 months later.<\/p>\n
Cerys Jones, Chelsea correspondent<\/p>\n
Chelsea 4-4 Ajax \u2014 November 5, 2019<\/p>\n
As close to a \u201cthat game had everything\u201d game as you\u2019re ever going to get.<\/p>\n
There were eight goals, two further goals disallowed, two red cards, two penalties and more besides. Chelsea were 4-1 down after Hakim Ziyech set the bar of expectation way too high for what supporters could expect from him when he signed less than a year later.<\/p>\n
Kurt Zouma went on a marauding run that nearly resulted in the greatest goal in Champions League history. Two Ajax players got sent off in the same phase of play, Reece James became Chelsea\u2019s youngest Champions League goalscorer when he volleyed in the equaliser, and Erik ten Hag\u2019s Ajax was essentially the ghost of Manchester United past and future.<\/p>\n
Matt Davies-Adams, host of Straight Outta Cobham<\/p>\n
Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid \u2014 May 5, 2021<\/p>\n
N\u2019Golo Kante is that rare example of a Chelsea legend who is not underappreciated by fans of rival clubs \u2014 the Frenchman\u2019s ability to dominate games while remaining humble endeared him to all.<\/p>\n
It felt fitting that Kante had arguably his best Chelsea performance with the eyes of the world on him. He excelled against Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge and was heavily involved in both goals. After Chelsea had missed several chances to extend their lead, it was Kante who typically won the ball back and played in Christian Pulisic, who eventually teed up Mason Mount.<\/p>\n
At the time, it also seemed apt that Cobham graduate Mount had given Chelsea their best moment in several years and firmly marked them as \u2018back\u2019.<\/p>\n
Luke Bosher, news editor<\/p>\n
Chelsea 4-1 Napoli \u2014 March 14, 2012<\/p>\n
The real rewards were claimed in Munich, but it was the dismantling of Napoli in the second leg of a last-16 tie in 2012 when Chelsea began to believe.<\/p>\n
Humiliated in Naples, with Andre Villas-Boas sacked a few days after that 3-1 loss, this had been a club in turmoil. Yet Roberto Di Matteo coaxed form from his senior players and, in the bedlam at Stamford Bridge, the old guard proved their pedigree. Didier Drogba and John Terry levelled the tie. Frank Lampard scored from the penalty spot after Napoli\u2019s riposte to send the game into extra time, with Branislav Ivanovic eventually thumping them into the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
Roman Abramovich and the club\u2019s former striker Andriy Shevchenko joined the players in the home dressing-room post-match. \u201cWe proved we\u2019re a team tonight,\u201d Terry told reporters after the game, as reported by The Guardian<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re about: that desire, that togetherness and sticking together when it really mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
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