United's record in 25 European quarter-finals
Manchester United will compete in the quarter-final stages of a European competition for the 26th time in our history, when we play FC Copenhagen in Cologne this Monday night.
When we’ve previously made it to the last eight of a European tournament, all 25 occasions have been decided over two legs, meaning Monday’s encounter at a neutral venue is a first for United.
However, regardless of the unusual circumstances surrounding the game, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will be hoping to extend our commendable record at this stage of a continental competition…
From the 25 quarter-final ties so far in various competitions, United have progressed to the semi-finals 16 times and been eliminated on nine occasions.
From those double headers, only once has the outcome been decided by penalties - against Hungarian outfit Videoton in the 1984/85 UEFA Cup - and when away goals have determined who moves onto the last four, United have been eliminated on both occasions (against Monaco in 1998 and Bayern Munich in 2010, both in the Champions League).
Only once has a European quarter-final involving United been settled in extra-time and that actually came when we were last in the Europa League, in 2016/17, with Marcus Rashford netting in the 107th minute to defeat Anderlecht en route to winning the trophy.
In previous quarter-finals, we have faced clubs from 11 different countries, including England - we knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League in 2010/11. However, our forthcoming clash with FC Copenhagen will be the first time we’ve played a Danish side at this stage in Europe.
We’ve met five teams (Barcelona, Porto, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Roma) in more than one last-eight tie; Bayern have been our most frequent quarter-final opponents with three Champions League meetings in 2000/01, 2009/10 and 2013/14.
From our 50 quarter-final games, there have certainly been some highs and lows for the Reds, but fans from different generations will remember certain encounters more fondly than others. Whether it was George Best’s magnificent performance away to Benfica in 1966, our 1984 comeback win over Diego Maradona’s Barcelona, the tense ties with Internazionale en route to winning the 1999 Treble, or our 7-1 mauling of Roma in 2007, there are simply too many to choose from. Let’s hope we can add another on Monday night!
EUROPEAN QUARTER-FINAL RECORD IN FULL
Stated scores are aggregates over two legs
1956/57: Athletic Bilbao - won 6-5 | European Cup
1957/58: Red Star Belgrade - won 5-4 | European Cup
1963/64: Sporting Lisbon - lost 5-4 | Cup Winners' Cup
1964/65: Strasbourg - won 5-0 | Fairs Cup
1965/66: Benfica - won 8-3 | European Cup
1967/68: Gornik Zabrze - won 3-0 | European Cup
1968/69: Rapid Vienna - won 3-0 | European Cup
1983/84: Barcelona - won 3-2 | Cup Winners' Cup
1984/85: Videoton - lost on penalties after 1-1 draw | UEFA Cup
1990/91: Montpellier - won 3-1 | Cup Winners' Cup
1996/97: Porto - won 4-0 | Champions League
1997/98: Monaco - lost on away goals after 1-1 draw | Champions League
1998/99: Inter - won 3-1 | Champions League
1999/00: Real Madrid - lost 3-2 | Champions League
2000/01: Bayern Munich - lost 3-1 | Champions League
2001/02: Deportivo La Coruna - won 5-2 | Champions League
2002/03: Real Madrid - lost 6-5 | Champions League
2006/07: Roma - won 8-2 | Champions League
2007/08: Roma - won 3-0 | Champions League
2008/09: Porto - won 3-2 | Champions League
2009/10: Bayern Munich - lost on away goals after 4-4 draw | Champions League
2010/11: Chelsea - won 3-1 | Champions League
2013/14: Bayern Munich - lost 4-2 | Champions League
2016/17: Anderlecht - won 3-2 | Europa League
2018/19: Barcelona - lost 4-0 | Champions League