John Terry believes that Chelsea‘s impressive 4-2 win over Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in the 2004/05 Champions League put the club “on the map” in Europe.
The two teams met at the Round of 16 stage, with Jose Mourinho’s side losing the first leg 2-1 at the Camp Nou, setting up a fascinating return leg in west London.
What followed was a classic European tie that ebbed and flowed as Chelsea flew into a three-goal lead inside 19 minutes, giving them the aggregate lead.
However, Barcelona hit back with two goals of their own, including a stunner from Ronaldinho, to level the tie on aggregate, but they had the away goal advantage.
With 15 minutes remaining though, Terry powered home a header that eventually secured the win for Chelsea, sending them through to the quarter-finals.
The Blues progressed to the semi-finals that season, only to infamously get knocked out by Liverpool at Anfield, but the club’s 35-year-old skipper identified the victory over Barca as a key moment in their history.
“It was of the most important as it was against one of the best teams in the world at the time and I think that put us on the map as one of the best teams in Europe,” Terry told Goal.
“We made a big statement and it was an amazing night. There were big celebrations from the supporters afterwards.”
As for this term, the centre-back has found it tough at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea have endured a horrendous campaign following their title win last year.
However, he has registered a 90% pass accuracy across his 23 Premier League appearances, whilst winning a 60% of his duels – both statistics being the best records of any defender at the club.
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