Key Takeaways
- Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa will face each other in the Europa League semi-finals this week.
- English clubs have met seven times before at this stage of European tournaments.
- The 2000s saw Chelsea and Liverpool battle three times in dramatic Champions League ties.
English football history will welcome another chapter when Nottingham Forest meet Aston Villa in the Europa League. This rare fixture adds to a short but exciting list of all-English European semi-finals.
The first such clash happened in 1971. Leeds United travelled to Anfield for the Inter-City Fairs Cup semi-final against Liverpool. Billy Bremner scored the only goal of the two legs with a powerful header. The Liverpool striker John Toshack saw his shot cleared off the line by Leeds’ strong defence. Bill Shankly, the Liverpool manager, admitted his team wasted too many chances. Don Revie’s Leeds side went on to win the trophy.
Injuries forced changes in the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Chelsea. Chelsea picked Derek Smethurst instead of Peter Osgood. The South African forward scored a brilliant volley in the first leg. City had problems too. Their backup keeper Ron Healey dropped a simple cross in the second leg. This mistake gave Chelsea an away goal. City could not recover and Chelsea reached the final.
The modern era belongs to Liverpool and Chelsea. They met three times in four Champions League seasons. The 2005 tie produced the famous “ghost goal”. Luis García tapped the ball towards the net in the second leg at Anfield. The officials said it crossed the line before William Gallas cleared it. Chelsea manager José Mourinho complained that the crowd affected the result. Liverpool won 1-0 on aggregate and later won the trophy in Istanbul.
The clubs met again in 2007. Chelsea held a one-goal lead from the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool defender Daniel Agger scored from a clever free-kick routine to level the tie. The match went to penalties after extra time. Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina saved two spot-kicks. Dirk Kuyt scored the winning penalty to send Liverpool through.
The third clash came in 2008. John Arne Riise scored an own goal in the 95th minute of the first leg at Anfield. This gave Chelsea a vital away draw. Rafa Benítez angered Didier Drogba by calling him a diver before the second leg. Drogba responded with two goals at Stamford Bridge. Frank Lampard also scored from the penalty spot. Ryan Babel scored late for Liverpool but Chelsea won 4-3 on aggregate. They later lost the final to Manchester United.
The last all-English semi-final was in 2009. Manchester United beat Arsenal 4-1 over two legs. John O’Shea scored early at Old Trafford. At the Emirates Stadium, a slip by Kieran Gibbs allowed Park Ji-sung to open the scoring. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, including a stunning free-kick from 40 yards. United reached the final but lost to Barcelona.