There will be four Premier League clubs in the pot for the 2018/19 Champions League quarter-final draw for the first time in 10 years after Liverpool joined domestic rivals Man Utd, Man City, and Tottenham in the latter stages of Europe’s box office competition.
Below we take a look at how each of the aforementioned quadruple have fared at the quarter-final stage in the Champions League era (1992/93 onwards).
Liverpool
- QF Ties: 6
- Progressed: 4
- Booted Out: 2
We’ll start off with Liverpool, who made it a clean sweep of four Premier League clubs into the quarter-finals after Jurgen Klopp’s men inflicted a 3-1 defeat upon Bayern Munich.
Liverpool have previously taken part in six quarter-finals in the Champions League era, all of which have been post-2000. The first showing was in 2001/02 when the Merseyside club lost 4-3 on aggregate to Bayer Leverkusen who would go on to finish runners-up to Real Madrid.
In Liverpool’s next appearance at this stage of the competition they edged out Juventus, then Chelsea in the semi-finals, before THAT famous comeback victory over AC Milan in the 2004/05 Final.
In 2006/07 Liverpool oversaw a convincing 4-0 aggregate triumph over PSV, then beat rivals Chelsea on penalties, but AC Milan got revenge in the final. The following season the Reds overcame Arsenal, which included a thrilling 4-2 second-leg at Anfield, however Chelsea squeaked through in extra-time during the semi-final second-leg.
The Blues also knockout out Liverpool in the next season’s quarter-finals (7-5 - after that engrossing 4-4 second-leg), while the club’s most recent showing was last season when they beat Man City in the last-8, but would go on to lose out to Real Madrid in the Final.
Tottenham
- QF Ties: 1
- Progressed: 0
- Booted Out: 1
Tottenham were the first of the English teams to book their spot in the last-8 this season after they brushed aside a muted Borussia Dortmund. It’s only the second time in the Champions League era that Spurs have reached this particular stage.
The club’s one and only appearance was back in 2010/11, the season in which Gareth Bale lit up the European scene with two stunning group stage games against Inter Milan. Harry Redknapp’s men finished top of Group A, before booting out the other Milan side in the last-32 thanks to a Peter Crouch goal at the San Siro. However, Tottenham were outclassed by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu (4-0) in the first-leg of the quarter-finals, then lost 1-0 back in London.
Manchester United
- QF Ties: 13
- Progressed: 7
- Booted Out: 6
Man Utd are amongst Europe’s elite in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2013/14, when they lost out to Bayern Munich under former manager David Moyes.
Both Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal both failed to reach this stage, while Sir Alex Ferguson oversaw a whopping 12 quarter-final ties; taking United through to the semi-finals on seven occasions.
Memorable quarter-final matches include that sensational 7-1 triumph over Roma - they lost the first clash 2-1 - during which they romped into a 4-0 half-time lead. It’s definitely up there with United’s most dazzling nights under the lights.
Back in 1999 Fergie’s men beat Inter, then Juventus en route to the Final, where they completed the famous treble with a last-gasp comeback win against Bayern Munich. Nine years later the Red Devils again booted out an Italian side, this time Roma, which was followed by a narrow 1-0 aggregate success over Barcelona - thanks to Paul Scholes - and a dramatic penalty shoot-out triumph against Chelsea in the Final.
Manchester City
- QF Ties: 2
- Progressed: 1
- Booted Out: 1
Manchester City had never reached the quarter-final stage in the Champions League era before 2015/16, but they’ve now occupied a position in the last-8 three times times in the last four seasons.
The first of which was a 3-2 aggregate win over French giants PSG, however they came unstuck against eventual winners Real Madrid in the last-4, failing to score in 180 minutes.
Last season City would have been hopeful of another semi-final showing, but were blown away by rivals Liverpool 3-0 in the first-leg, then fell to a 2-1 defeat at home.
