Champions League: From Rivaldo-led revival to Fernando Torres breaking Catalan hearts, classic Chelsea-Barcelona clashes

Over the last two decades, Chelsea and Barcelona have been two of the most dominant sides in the UEFA Champions League. The two sides have won four of the last 10 Champions League titles — Barcelona won in 2009, 2011, 2015 and Chelsea in 2012 — while also clinching league titles at home. The duo have produced some classic Champions League matches featuring atrocious goals, fiery tempers, underdog stories and, of course, controversy. The two sides renew hostilities on Tuesday when Ernesto Valverde’s side travels to London to take on Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. Ahead of what promises to be a mouth-watering last-16 tie, take a look at the history between the two European giants. Rivaldo leads revival

Chelsea’s first foray into the quarter-finals in 2000 got off to a flying start as Gianfranco Zola and a Tore Andre Flo double put the hosts 3-0 up inside 38 minutes of the first leg. However, Luis Figo grabbed a vital away goal after the break to set up a Barcelona second leg fightback. Rivaldo and Figo struck before half-time at the Camp Nou to give Barcelona the advantage on away goals before Flo restored Chelsea’s aggregate lead. Pep Guardiola provided the cross from which Dani Garcia’s header took the game to extra-time. Rivaldo’s penalty edged Barcelona ahead, having earlier missed from the spot before Patrick Kluivert capped the comeback with Barcelona’s fifth. Mourinho gets Frisky

The presence of former Barcelona assistant Jose Mourinho as Chelsea boss took the rivalry to new heights in 2005. Mourinho was furious with Swedish referee Anders Frisk after he sent-off Didier Drogba with Chelsea leading 1-0 at the Camp Nou in the first leg. Frisk retired from refereeing less than a month later, citing death threats. Barcelona came back against the 10 men to win 2-1 on the night but were blown away by another fast Chelsea start at the Bridge. Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Damien Duff put the Blues 3-0 up inside 20 minutes before Ronaldinho, firstly from the penalty spot, and then with a stunning outside of the foot strike from outside the box nudged Barcelona ahead on away goals. However, John Terry’s header 14 minutes from time won the tie, with this time Barcelona complaining of a foul on goalkeeper Victor Valdes by Ricardo Carvalho. Messi times for Chelsea

Lionel Messi started just one knockout game on Barcelona’s run to winning the Champions League in 2006. Unfortunately, for Chelsea, the Argentine was still decisive. Asier del Horno saw red for hacking down an 18-year-old Messi before half-time in the first leg. Barcelona made the man advantage count through a Terry own goal and Samuel Eto’o in a 2-1 win. Ronaldinho then sealed the tie back at the Camp Nou before Lampard’s late penalty. Chelsea pay heavy penalty

The most controversial of all the clashes came in 2009 when Chelsea saw four strong penalty appeals waived away by Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo before being hit by a late sucker punch. After a forgettable 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou, Chelsea went in front in spectacular fashion through Michael Essien’s volley. Three penalty claims then came and went, whilst Barcelona also had Eric Abidal sent-off. But the 10 men got the goal that paved the way for Guardiola’s men to win the treble when Andres Iniesta fired into the top corner three minutes into stoppage time. Yet there was still time for Ovrebo to turn down final howls for a spot-kick when the ball struck Eto’o’s arm, sparking fury from Chelsea players and fans. Torres’ time to shine

The English side got their revenge in Guardiola’s final Champions League match as Barcelona boss three years later by upsetting the odds despite again going down to 10 men. Drogba gave Chelsea a slender 1-0 lead to take to Catalonia and that didn’t look like being enough when Terry saw red for kicking out at Alexis Sanchez before Sergio Busquets and Iniesta turned the tie around. However, Ramires’s wonderful chip hauled Chelsea back into the tie and they withstood wave upon wave of Barcelona attack after the break as Messi also hit the bar with a penalty. And it was the unlikely figure of Fernando Torres who landed the final blow when he broke away for Chelsea’s second in stoppage time to set up the Londoners’ solitary Champions League triumph. With inputs from AFP.