At 7.45pm, the talking stops and the contest begins to decide whether Chelsea for a fourth time or Fenerbahçe for a first will make the semis. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton look at words said and football played prior to tonight's kick-off.

Rick looks for lessons from the past.


One thing we know about this match with clarity: Chelsea have to win it. The Turks, leading 2-1 from the first leg in Istanbul, need only a draw to progress.

The surrendering of a goal lead caused misery for Chelsea and its followers on the night, but that one successful strike could prove pivotal. Twenty teams have overcome a first-leg deficit to reach the next round in the Champions League's knockout stages.

Looking specifically at the quarter-final stats is not especially reassuring though. In the Champions League era only one in five of sides that lost the opening match have come back to win the tie overall - one in 20 of which were on the rule that away goals count double.

Chelsea have only overturned an opening-leg defeat once, but what an inspiring example to remember: the epic 4-2 win over Barcelona at Stamford Bridge after the controversial 1-2 defeat in the Nou Camp back in the Round of 16 in 2004/05.

Mateja Kezman, who now plays for our opponents, set up Chelsea's opener that famous night with a brilliant through pass to Eidur Gudjohnsen, who coolly eluded Juliano Belletti (now a possible starter for the Blues) before scoring.

The away goals rule was not required that night. Skipper John Terry's special late header made the aggregate score 5-4 and left Stamford Bridge throbbing.

Underdogs Fenerbahçe are no Barça, of course, though they clearly have a similar South American influence, and a shrewd head coach in Artur 'Zico' Coimbra. His side remained top of the Turkish Super League at the weekend, despite the absence (supposedly through injury) of goalkeeper Volkan Demirel, who kept Chelsea at bay so ably last week.

Fenerbahçe are aiming to reach their first ever semi-final in this competition, and will have noted that great rivals Besiktas won 2-0 at the Bridge four years ago. That was in the group stage, and the then champions of Turkey scored two breakaway goals in five minutes against the run of play.

Zico will not be inspired with confidence by his side's travelling form. Over their last seven away games in the Champions League proper they have drawn two and lost five, including a 6-2 whacking from Manchester United in 2004.

Perhaps aware that he needs to use all his experience to help his players, Zico has publicly criticised his London opponents' style of play. 'Chelsea became a more defensive team after José Mourinho left,' he said this weekend.

'They used to know exactly what they wanted. They used to mark in the opponents' half of the pitch, apply pressure and show high levels of confidence. Now I see Chelsea more restricted to defence, waiting for the moment to counter-attack.'

This could be perceived as another calculated comment by the wily South American straight out of the Sir Alex Ferguson school of psychology, one designed to rile his opponent and provoke an opposite reaction that plays into Zico's hands.

Knowing that Chelsea have the away goal and could progress by scoring once and shutting out his side, those words are a taunt to the Blues to come out and attack. Their last-round performance in the 2-3 defeat in Seville showed that the Turkish champions are happiest in an open game where defence is not the priority.

He knows, too, that Avram Grant has frequently expressed his ambition to see flamboyant football, and that it has not always been forthcoming in his time at Stamford Bridge.

Zico tried something similar before the first leg. The Brazil '82 legend claimed in the pre-match press conference that his side would go for all out attack. On the back of that suggestion, he was no doubt hoping that Chelsea - fast starters scoring quick goals in recent matches - would expect an onslaught and begin the match cagily.

As it was, the team from the banks of the Bosporus were content to congest the midfield, their flying full backs (one Vedersen run apart) hardly in evidence, while a confident and fluent Chelsea cut through them with crisp passing movements.

The Turks barely got going in the first hour and but for poor final passes and finishing the Blues would have had more than back-tracking striker Deivid's 13th-minute own goal to show for their domination.

If his psychology is a little transparent, the Fenerbahçe manager's in-play tactics can be excellent. As last weekend's impressive 2-1 Super League comeback against off-form grinders Kayserispor showed, his ability to reshape a game with substitutions and instructions in the Chelsea game was not a one-off.

In fact the two matches were remarkably similar. Turkey's fifth-placed side opened the scoring on the leaders' home ground and it wasn't until after Zico's first personnel change that Fener looked likely to score. Just as against Chelsea the switch was made on 54 minutes and the man coming on was striker Colin Kazim-Richards - though against Kayserispor he replaced left-back Roberto Carlos, on his return from injury.

Wearing a change strip of yellow and white stripes, white shorts and socks, the Canaries' breakthrough came ten minutes later - as against Chelsea - when the under-pressure visitors conceded a penalty that was converted by impressive Brazilian playmaker Alex.

The hosts' vital winner came in the sixth minute of injury time from supersub winger Semih ?entürk, who had replaced Mateja Kezman on 70 minutes - again, much like the Chelsea match.

The key change in our Champions League encounter arrived at the same point, when Zico switched from a 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 formation to a 4-4-2 with the arrival of Kazim-Richards as Kezman's partner. Like Kayserispor, Chelsea failed to deal with the additional threat.

It is unlikely that Chelsea could be stung by the same familiar moves again. Does Zico have other options up his sleeve? In any case, had either Ricardo Carvalho or Michael Ballack dispatched their very good goalscoring opportunities shortly before Fener's first goal, the story of the night would have been very different.

The onus is on London's 'overdogs' to prove that result was a one-off, and we know from that famously roaring Barcelona night that the Bridge crowd can always play its part.

In Istanbul, Chelsea had subdued the Sükrü Saracoglu for an hour, but the Turkish team were buoyed up by the sudden, deafening increase in volume from Fenerbahçe fans once they had equalised. Tonight those supporters will be the (hopefully inaudible) minority.

Half of Turkey, the local saying goes, is always made happy by a Fenerbahçe result - their supporters and enemies being of equal measure. If Chelsea can send the Canaries-hating Turks delirious tonight, we will play the second leg of the semi-final at the Bridge for the first time since Monaco in 2004.

We know that our semi-final opponents would be one of tonight's combatants, Liverpool or Arsenal, with all the history enshrined in our previous European encounters. In many ways it's been a difficult season, but a memorable way to finish it still lies ahead.


CHELSEA V FENERBAHÇE - Paul Dutton with the facts and figures that go with a big European night.

Fifteen Champions League knockout ties have been decided on the away goals rule, including five where the triumphant team lost the first leg.

Excluding finals, only four ties have gone to penalties (including Liverpool v Chelsea last season).

Although Fenerbahçe have not lost at home in European competition for two and a half years, they haven't won away in the Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds) since they beat Sparta Prague 1-0 in the group stage in November 2004.

We are looking to extend our club unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge in all competitions to 64 games since our last defeat on February 22nd 2006 when Barcelona beat a ten-man Chelsea 2-1 in the Champions League. That has been our only home defeat in the last 122 games since February 2004.

Chelsea host a Turkish side in UEFA competition for only the third occasion, both in the Champions League group stages. Galatasaray were beaten by a Dan Petrescu goal in September 1999 and Besiktas inflicted a 0-2 defeat on us in 2003/04.

Fenerbahçe's away record against English clubs is:
1968/69 European Cup 1st round - Man City D 0-0
1977/78 UEFA Cup 1st round - Aston Villa L 0-4
1979/80 Cup Winners' Cup 1st round - Arsenal L 0-2
1996/97 Champions League group - Man Utd W 1-0
2004/05 Champions League group - Man Utd L 2-6
2006/07 UEFA Cup group - Newcastle L 0-1

Fenerbahçe's last five years in Europe
2002/03 UEFA Cup - 2nd round (having transferred from the Champions League 3rd qualifying round
2003/04 Did not compete
2004/05 UEFA Cup - round of 32 - (having transferred from the Champions League group stage)
2005/06 Champions League - group stage
2006/07 UEFA Cup - round of 32 - (having transferred from the Champions League 3rd qualifying round)

They made their Champions League debut in the 1996/97 group stage and are competing in their fifth campaign where this quarter final is the furthest they have achieved in this competition.

Champions League finalists since the start of the FA Premier League and UEFA Champions League in 1992/93: AC Milan 6, Juventus 4, Real Madrid 3, Ajax 2, Barcelona 2, Bayern Munich 2, Liverpool 2, Valencia 2, Arsenal 1, Bayer Leverkusen 1, Dortmund 1, Manchester United 1, Marseille 1, Monaco 1, Porto 1.

Fenerbahçe's European Cup record is played 78, won 26, drawn 11, lost 41.

They reclaimed the Turkish championship last season ahead of Besiktas and Galatasaray. Since their formation 101 years ago they have won 16 league titles, four national cups, eight League Cups and seven Super Cups.

Fenerbahçe's last six domestic games
Mar 1 Ankaragucu (a) D 0-0
Mar 9 Manisaspor (h) W 4-1
Mar 16 Konyaspor (a) W 4-1
Mar 21 Kasimpasaspor (h) W 3-0
Mar 29 Besiktas (a) W 2-1
Apr 5 Kayserispor (h) W 2-1

Fenerbahçe maintained top position of the Turkish Super League on Saturday beating fifth placed Kayserispor 2-1 with a stoppage time Semih Senturk winner. Captain Alex equalised from the penalty spot after 65 minutes. Zico made three changes from our game on Wednesday. Team Kulbilge, Gonul, Lugano, Yasin, Roberto Carlos (Kaz?m-Richards 54), Vederson, Deivid, Aurelio (Boral 81), Maldonado, Alex (c), Kezman (Semih 60).

Fenerbahçe entered this seasons Champions League at the third qualifying round. They finished second in Group G with 11 points, four behind Inter Milan.

Third qualifying round
Aug 15 Anderlecht (h) W 1-0
Aug 29 Anderlecht (a) W 2-0

Group G results
Sep 19 Inter Milan (h) W 1-0
Oct 2 CSKA Moscow (a) D 2-2
Oct 23 PSV Eindhoven (a) D 0-0
Nov 7 PSV Eindhoven (h) W 2-0
Nov 27 Inter Milan (a) L 0-3
Dec 12 CSKA Moscow (h) W 3-1

Round of 16
Feb 20 Sevilla (h) W 3-2
Mar 4 Sevilla (a) L 2-3 (won 3-2 on pens)

Quarter-final
Apr 2 Chelsea (h) W 2-1

Appearances (excluding qualifying games)
Alex 9, Aurelio 9, Demirel 9, Edu 9, Deivid 8, Lugano 8, Vederson 7+2, Roberto Carlos 7, Gonul 6+1, Kezman 5+1, Semih 4+4, Baris 4, Boral 4, Sahin 4, Turaci 3+1, Kazim-Richards 1+7, Yasin 1+1, Maldonado 1, Bilgin 0+3, Appiah 0+2, Metin 0+1.

Goals
Deivid 5, Alex 2, Boral 2, Senturk 2, Kazim-Richards 1, Kezman 1, Lugano 1, own goal 1.

Fenerbahçe have played 46 games in all competitions winning 29, losing six and drawing 11. They have scored 94 goals, conceded 48, have kept 14 clean sheets and failed to score eight times.

We have been beaten five times (Man Utd away, Arsenal away, Tottenham at Wembley, Barnsley away and Fenerbahçe away) in 44 games in all competitions under Avram Grant three of which have come in the last 11.

Chelsea's overall record in European competition is played 139, won 74, drawn 36, lost 29. This is our eleventh season in succession in Europe.

In our sixth appearance in the Champions League, we maintained our record of always qualifying for the knockout rounds and for the fifth time in six attempts finished as group winners. We were semi-finalists in 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2006/07, quarter-finalists in 1999/2000 and reached the last 16 in 2005/06.

Our Champions League results are as follows:
Sep 18 Rosenborg (h) D 1-1
Oct 3 Valencia (a) W 2-1
Oct 24 Schalke (h) W 2-0
Nov 6 Schalke (a) D 0-0
Nov 28 Rosenborg (a) W 4-0
Dec 11 Valencia (h) D 0-0
Feb 19 Olympiacos (Rd of 16 a) D 0-0
Mar 5 Olympiacos (Rd of 16 h) W 3-0
Apr 2 Fenerbahçe (QF a) L 1-2

Appearances J Cole 8+1, Essien 8+1, Makelele 8+1, Drogba 7, Lampard 6+1, Malouda 6+1, Carvalho 6, Cech 6, A Cole 6, Terry 6, Alex 5+1, Belletti 4+1, Ferreira 4, Kalou 3+4, Cudicini 3+1, Ballack 3, Bridge 3, Wright-Phillips 2+3, Shevchenko 2+2, Mikel 1+3, Ben-Haim 1+1, Pizarro 1+1, Anelka 0+2, Sidwell 0+1.

Goals Drogba 4, J Cole 2, Alex 1, Ballack 1, Kalou 1, Lampard 1, Malouda 1, Shevchenko 1, own goal 1.

Chelsea have played 53 games in all competitions winning 34, drawing 13 and losing six. We have scored 92 goals, conceded 37 and have kept 29 clean sheets. We have failed to score on 10 occasions.

In the Champions League proper (excluding qualifying games) Chelsea have played 67 games in total. We have won 33, drawn 19 and lost 15.

UEFA club competition all time top scorers: Filippo Inzaghi (Parma, Juventus, AC Milan) 63, Raul (Real Madrid) 63, Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich) 62, Andriy Shevchenko (Dynamo Kiev, AC Milan, Chelsea) 60, Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV, Man Utd, Real Madrid) 57, Eusebio (Benfica) 56.

European Cup / UEFA Champions League all time top scorers: Raul (Real Madrid) 61, Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV, Man Utd, Real Madrid) 57, Andriy Shevchenko (Dynamo Kiev, AC Milan, Chelsea) 56, Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid) 49, Eusebio (Benfica) 47.

The referee is Herbert Fandel from Germany. He's handled two previous matches at the Bridge: the 3-1 win over Porto in September 2004, and the 0-0 group stage stalemate with Liverpool of December 2005.

Salomon Kalou, if selected, will make his 100th appearance for the club. The 99 games to date have comprised 53 starts and 46 substitute appearances.

Welcome back to Mateja Kezman who spent one season with us winning a Premier League and League Cup medal in 2004/05 before moving onto Atlético Madrid. He has scored 17 goals this term in all competitions.

A 2-1 Chelsea win after 90 minutes is the only score that will result in 30 minutes extra time and if there are no goals penalties will determine the winner.

In 66 European games at Stamford Bridge Chelsea have lost three times. Only Lazio (1999/2000 1-2), Besiktas (2003/04 0-2) and Barcelona (2005/06 1-2) have defeated us.

The winners of this tie will play against Arsenal or Liverpool in the semi-final. The first leg will be away on Tuesday April 22nd. The home second leg is on Wednesday April 30th.

FIRST LEG RESULT
Fenerbahçe 2 Chelsea 1
Quarter-final Wednesday April 2nd 2008 at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey.
Fenerbahçe (4-2-3-1) Demirel; Turaci, Lugano, Edu, Vederson; Aurelio, Maldonado; Deivid, Boral (Kazim-Richards 54), Alex (c); Kezman (Senturk 72).
Manager Zico.
Scorers Kazim-Richards (64), Deivid (80)
Booked None
Chelsea (4-3-3) Cudicini; Essien, Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Ballack, Makelele, Lampard (Mikel 75); J Cole (Anelka 85), Drogba, Malouda.
Manager Avram Grant.
Scorers Deivid own goal (13)
Booked None
Referee Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark)
Crowd 49,055