Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Chelsea's European record against Turkish opposition

Chelsea's European record against Turkish opposition
Chelsea have faced Turkish opposition three times in the Champions League. The Blues last faced Galatasaray in Group H in the 1999, beating the Lions twice in the first group stage, 1-0 at Stamford Bridge 5-0 in Istanbul

The Blues suffered a surprise defeat against Besiktas in London in the 2003/2004 Champions League group stages however , beat the Black Eagles 2-0 away - The Istanbul based club were forced to play their away game in Gelsenkirchen , Germany.

The last time Chelsea faced by Turkish opposition in the competition was back in 2008th Fenerbahce beat the Blues 2-1 at home but were knocked out of the Champions League quarter- finals after losing 2-0 to Chelsea in the return leg.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho also faced two of his former players Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder last season in the quarter- finals of the Champions League . The Portuguese managers of Real Madrid side defeated Galatasaray 5-3 on aggregate.

Mourinho signed Drogba to Chelsea during his last stint at the club in 2004 for € 24 million and under his management the Ivory Coast international gained a reputation as being one of the best strikers in the world.

The pair won two Premier League titles and the FA Cup together . Drogba stayed on after Mourinho left and went on to score 157 goals in 341 appearances for the Blues.

The 35 - year-old striker won the Premier League again and played a key role in Chelsea 's Champions League winning campaign and was voted the greatest Blues player of all time in a poll conducted by the Chelsea Magazine last year.

Drogba joined Galatasaray on a free transfer from Shanghai Shenhua last December.


The Ivory Coast international has scored 16 goals and provided 11 assists since joining the Lions.

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