As far as Bolton Wanderers are concerned, 2007-08 was a special campaign. They may have only remained in the Premier League by one point, something that they achieved with three wins and two draws from their final five games, but it was their adventures in the UEFA Cup that really captured the imagination of the club's supporters.
After reaching the group stage of the competition, the Trotters were drawn against former European champions Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants weren't the force that they are now, but it was a team that included Oliver Kahn, Franck Ribery, Bastien Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose. Despite their riches, Bolton were able to nick a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena thanks to a late goal from Kevin Davies.
That set the tone for the rest of the campaign and after they nicked third place ahead of Aris Thessaloniki, they were awarded with a two-legged tie with Atletico Madrid, with the first leg of the tie taking place on this day in 2008. Like Bayern, Atletico weren't as strong as they are seven years on, but they still possessed a squad that contained Juan Antonio Reyes, Diego Forlan and a 19-year-old Sergio Aguero.
Despite their underdog status, it was Bolton who made all of the early running at the Reebok Stadium. Matt Taylor was proving to be their biggest threat, with a long-range effort from the left-sided player stinging the palms of goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, but it wasn't long before Atletico responded through Antonio Lopez, who forced a stunning stop out of Jussi Jaaskelainen with a header from close range.
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As the first half progressed, Taylor was still causing the Atletico backline plenty of problems with Abbiati being forced into action four times during the opening half-hour, but the La Liga side looked a huge threat up the other end, with Reyes and Simao both going close to opening the scoring.
Bolton boss Gary Megson would have told his side that he expected more of the same, and within a minute of the second half getting underway, Davies drew an excellent save out of Abbiati, who was doing well to keep the score goalless. Atletico were squandering their own openings though, and Forlan almost made an impact on his return to England when driving the ball into the side-netting from an inviting position.
Just before the hour mark, Aguero, who at the time was considered to be one of world football's brightest prospects, was introduced to the action and it wasn't long before he was beginning to add a further creative spark to his team's attack. However, after he had shifted the momentum in favour of the visitors, he was leaving the action for an early shower.
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After conceding a foul, the assistant referee ruled that Aguero had spat in his direction, which resulted in the referee handing a straight red card to the Argentine. It was a decision that ultimately proved decisive as a minute later, Bolton took the lead when striker El Hadji Diouf fired home powerfully from six yards out to leave Bolton with 15 minutes to hang on to what would be a priceless first-leg lead.
Despite being a man down, Atletico dominated the final 15 minutes, but led by a defence that included new signing Gary Cahill, the Premier League outfit managed to hold on to their clean sheet to deny their opponents an away goal.
Against the odds, Bolton produced a rearguard display to hold Atletico to a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon to progress through to the last 16, but it was there where their fairytale run came to an end against Sporting Lisbon, with the Portuguese giants advancing 2-1 on aggregate.
Bolton Wanderers XI: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Cahill, Andrew O'Brien, Samuel, Campo, Diouf, Guthrie, Nolan, Taylor, Davies.
Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Meite, Teymourian, Vaz Te, Joey O'Brien, Giannakopoulos, Sinclair
Atletico Madrid XI: Abbiati, Antonio Lopez, Perea, Pablo, Pernia, Reyes, Mista, Maxi, Cleber Santana, Simao, Forlan
Subs: Falcon, Fabiano Eller, Alex Quillo, Dominguez, Miguel, Jurado, Aguero
Darren Plant
