PFC Levski Sofia V Chelsea FC MATCH PRESS KIT Vassil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Wednesday, 27 September 2006 - 20:45CET Group a - Matchday 2
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PFC Levski Sofia v Chelsea FC MATCH PRESS KIT Vassil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Wednesday, 27 September 2006 - 20:45CET Group A - Matchday 2 There was no concession to PFC Levski Sofia's unfamiliarity with UEFA Champions League football in a fixture schedule which gave the Bulgarian champions a debut appearance away to reigning champions FC Barcelona. A 5-0 defeat proved the most painful of introductions and it gets little easier with Chelsea FC their opponents on Matchday 2. • Stanimir Stoilov's side were undone by two first-half goals in Spain and Barça went on to emphasise their superiority with three more after the break - all five goals coming from different scorers. Levski's supporters will be praying that lessons were quickly learned as Chelsea's superstars arrive threatening to inflict similar damage. Bad omens • Three previous home games against English opposition in UEFA club competition all resulted in aggregate defeat for the Sofia outfit and their only positive result in six individual matches came in the second round of the 1983/84 UEFA Cup with a 1-1 draw at Watford FC. They lost 3-1 in the return, the first of three home defeats in the UEFA Cup. Liverpool FC triumphed 4-2 in 2003/04, two years after Levski lost 2-0 to Chelsea. • John Terry scored the opener that day, while Frank Lampard was on target in the 3-0 first-leg victory. The pair are the only players still remaining at Stamford Bridge, while Eidur Gudjohnsen, now at Group A rivals Barcelona, scored the other three goals. Georgi Petkov and Stanislav Angelov played both legs for Levski. Bremen blunted • Five years on and a fifth successive Matchday 1 victory was the perfect way for Chelsea FC to launch a new challenge for Europe's premier club prize and they will be looking to build on a 2-0 win against Werder Bremen as they return to the Bulgarian capital. • Michael Essien broke the deadlock midway through the first half, his first UEFA Champions League goal since he scored twice against Bremen for Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16 in March 2005. Michael Ballack then took over penalty-taking duties from Lampard to put the issue beyond doubt in the 68th minute. Travel woes • Last season was the first time Chelsea have failed to reach the quarter-finals in four UEFA Champions League seasons but their consistency has not been built on success away from home. On the road, they have won just one of their last eight games - 2-0 at RSC Anderlecht on Matchday 5 last season - five of which ended in defeat. • However, they have good memories of their two previous visits to the Bulgarian capital. As well as the 2-0 win against Levski in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup first round, Chelsea triumphed 1-0 against PFC CSKA Sofia in the second round of the 1970/71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In those four matches they scored seven without reply. Last updated 27.9.2006 11:17:02CET uefa.com 1 PFC Levski Sofia v Chelsea FC MATCH PRESS KIT Team facts PFC Levski Sofia UEFA club competition milestones • Levski's third qualifying round defeat of AC Chievo Verona meant they became the first Bulgarian club to reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Their previous best showings in the European Champion Clubs' Cup saw them reach the second round on three occasions, most recently in 1993/94 when they were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Werder Bremen. • Levski have competed in the quarter-finals of a UEFA club competition five times, including last season's 4-2 aggregate UEFA Cup loss to FC Schalke 04. That run ended a 19-year wait to reach the latter stages, having been beaten 4-0 (under their previous guise as FK Vitosha) over two legs by Real Zaragoza in the 1986/87 Cup Winners' Cup. UEFA club competition honours • No participations recorded in a UEFA club competition final. Ten-year record (including current season) • Levski made three previous unsuccessful attempts to make the group stage of the UEFA Champions League prior to this campaign, their two most recent attempts coming in the 2001/02 and 2002/03 seasons as they exited at the third qualifying round stage. 1997/98: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - qualifying round 1998/99: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - first round 1999/00: UEFA Cup - second round 2000/01: European Champion Clubs' Cup - second qualifying round 2001/02: UEFA Cup - first round (having transferred from the European Champion Clubs' Cup third qualifying round) 2002/03: UEFA Cup - second round (having transferred from the European Champion Clubs' Cup, third qualifying round) 2003/04: UEFA Cup - third round 2004/05: UEFA Cup - first round 2005/06: UEFA Cup - quarter-finals 2006/07: UEFA Champions League - group stage 2005/06 season Domestic record: After trailing PFC CSKA Sofia by seven points during the winter break, Levski recovered to win nine league games on the trot and claim their 24th Bulgarian Premier League title with two games to spare after a 2-1 victory at PFC Botev Plovdiv. Stanimir Stoilov's team only reached the third round of the Bulgarian Cup, where they were beaten 3-2 after extra time by PFC Cherno More Varna and suffered further disappointment in the Super Cup on 30 July as they fell to CSKA 3-0 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes. European record: A tremendous away-goals victory against AJ Auxerre of France in the first round proved a sign of things to come as Levski enjoyed a fine UEFA Cup campaign to become the first Bulgarian team to play 14 European games in one season. The Sofia club then beat FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti and Olympique de Marseille in the group stage to advance in second place behind the French team in Group F. FC Artmedia and Udinese Calcio, both previous UEFA Champions League challengers, were subsequently dispatched before Schalke triumphed 4-2 in the last eight. Key facts • To date, Levski have played 43 matches in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, winning 12, drawing 12 and losing 19. In that time, they have scored 60 goals and conceded 62. Matchday 2 will see Levski make their home debut in the UEFA Champions League proper. Last updated 27.9.2006 11:17:02CET uefa.com 2 PFC Levski Sofia v Chelsea FC MATCH PRESS KIT • Overall, Levski have played 153 matches in UEFA club competition with 54 wins, 34 draws and 65 losses. In those matches, they scored 233 times while conceding 218 goals. Records UEFA club competition • Biggest win 12-2: FK Levski-Spartak Sofia v Lahden Reipas 16.09.1976, 1976/77 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, first round, first leg • Biggest home win 12-2: FK Levski-Spartak Sofia v Lahden Reipas (see above for details) • Biggest away win 1-7: Lahden Reipas v FK Levski-Spartak Sofia 29.09.1976, 1976/77 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, first round, second leg • Heaviest defeat 5-0: FC Barcelona v PFC Levski Sofia 12/09.2006, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League, group stage 5-0: AZ 67 Alkmaar v FK Levski-Spartak Sofia 04.11.1980, 1980/81 UEFA Cup, second round, second leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-3: FK Levski-Spartak Sofia v Sevilla FC 28.09.1982, 1982/83 UEFA Cup, first round, second leg 0-3: FK Levski-Spartak Sofia v Újpesti Dózsa SC 18.09.1974, 1974/75 European Champion Clubs' Cup, first round, first leg • Heaviest away defeat 5-0: FC Barcelona v PFC Levski Sofia (see above for details) 5-0: AZ 67 Alkmaar v FK Levski-Spartak Sofia (see above for details) UEFA Champions League (group stage to final only) • Biggest win (home or away) No wins to date in the competition • Heaviest defeat 5-0: FC Barcelona v PFC Levski Sofia (see above for details) • Heaviest home defeat No home defeats to date in the competition • Heaviest away defeat 5-0: FC Barcelona v PFC Levski Sofia (see above for details) Last updated: 15 September 2006 Chelsea FC Last updated 27.9.2006 11:17:02CET uefa.com 3 PFC Levski Sofia v Chelsea FC MATCH PRESS KIT UEFA club competition milestones • Although having emerged as a major force in recent years, success in the European Champion Clubs' Cup has eluded Chelsea. Their best campaigns to date in the UEFA Champions League came when they reached the 2003/04 and 2004/05 semi-finals, although the club have won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup on two occasions. • Their first victory came at the end of the 1970/71 season where they defeated Real Madrid CF 2-1 in a final replay in Athens after the sides had shared a 1-1 draw. Chelsea won the competition 27 years later when overcoming VfB Stuttgart 1-0, thanks to Gianfranco Zola's 70th-minute goal in Stockholm. UEFA club competition honours • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1970/71, 1997/98 • UEFA Super Cup: 1998 Ten-year record (includng current season) • Chelsea are competing in their fourth successive UEFA Champions League campaign having reached the semi-final stage in the first two seasons of that run. Overall, this is Chelsea's fifth time in the competition, and to date, every appearance has resulted in qualification for the knockout stages. 1997/98: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - winners 1998/99: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - semi-finals 1999/00: UEFA Champions League - quarter-finals 2000/01: UEFA Cup - first round 2001/02: UEFA Cup - second round 2002/03: UEFA Cup - first round 2003/04: UEFA Champions League - semi-finals 2004/05: UEFA Champions League - semi-finals 2005/06: UEFA Champions League - first knockout round 2006/07: UEFA Champions League - group stage 2005/06 season Domestic record: Chelsea followed up their first league title for 50 years by defending their English Premiership crown in style.