In advance of our Champions League second leg with Arsenal at Anfield on Tuesday evening, YNWA looks at our previous meetings with English opposition in European competition. We have won three, drawn six and lost four of the thirteen matches to date, with the reds only notching five times in these fixtures.

Last week
Emmanuel Adebayor headed Arsenal into the lead at the Emirates Stadium last Wednesday, but Dirk Kuyt bundled in an equaliser just three minutes later, with the reds hanging on for more than an hour to leave with a 1-1 draw, despite strong home claims for a penalty.

First time against Chelsea
We have faced Chelsea in three consecutive seasons in the Champions League, with the possibility of a fourth still to come. We held them to a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge in April 2005 in the first leg of our Semi-final, with the evening only slightly spoiled by Xabi Alonso's unwarranted booking that would rule him out of the Anfield return. Steven Gerrard had an emergency dental operation on the morning of the game.

Luis García converted the only goal of the second leg four minutes into the second leg, with the referee clearly indicating that the ball had indeed crossed the line, despite Chelsea protests. The Anfield atmosphere remained white hot, with many supporters considering this to be the famous old ground's greatest ever night as the reds held out for victory to reach our sixth European Cup Final. Hearts were in mouths when six minutes of injury time were conjured up, and especially when Eidur Gudjohnsen shot past the post deep into added-on time.

We next met Chelsea in the group stage the following season, being held to a goalless draw in the first match at Anfield. Sami Hyypiä set a new club record for consecutive European games by an outfield player when he appeared for the 56th time in a row as another goalless game at the Bridge ensured that we finished top of the group, with Dietmar Hamann managing to play the full game despite a horror tackle by Michael Essien. This guaranteed us a supposedly easier draw in the last sixteen, when we were paired with SL Benfica.

Off to Athens
We were faced with Chelsea once more in the Champions League Semi-final last season, as we faced the same team in three consecutive seasons in Europe for the first time. Jamie Carragher played his 89th game in Europe in the first leg, equalling Ian Callaghan's club record as we lost 1-0 to a Joe Cole strike. Bolo Zenden faced a former club for the third consecutive round, following ties against Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven.

Daniel Agger struck half-way through the first half of the Anfield return, with Carragher breaking the club record with his ninetieth game in Europe. Dirk Kuyt hit the bar after an hour before netting the decisive spot-kick as we triumphed 4-2 in the shoot-out, as neither side succeeded in scoring during the rest of normal time or the additional half hour. Zenden, Alonso and Gerrard converted their penalties, as Pepe Reina saved from both Arjen Robben and Geremi.

First time in the European Cup
We lost 2-0 at Nottingham Forest in the first leg of our European Cup First Round encounter in September 1978, our hundredth game in Europe, as we began to lose our grip on the trophy that we had won for the previous two seasons. We could only secure a goalless draw in the Anfield return, with ex-red Larry Lloyd dominant in defence, as Forest went on to claim the cup for the first of two consecutive seasons.

Other English Semi-final opposition
Billy Bremner struck as Leeds United won 1-0 at Anfield in the first leg of our Fairs Cup Semi-final. A goalless draw in the return at Elland Road saw the Yorkshiremen through, where they beat Juventus in the two-legged final. Two years later, left-back Alec Lindsay grabbed the only goal of the game in our UEFA Cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield with Brian Hall hitting the bar. We lost the second leg 2-1, our first ever defeat in the competition, but progressed to the Final on the away goals rule thanks to Steve Heighway's strike.