Of the eight last-16 Champions League ties that will be played over the coming weeks, it seems as though Wednesday's meeting between Real Madrid and Manchester United has captured the attention of football fans more than any other.
These two sides, who have won the competition 12 times between them, have met each other on eight previous occasions.
Here, Sports Mole has looked over the five most memorable of those eight matches.
Real Madrid 3-1 Man United, April 1957
An estimated 135,000 supporters crammed inside the Bernabeu as Sir Matt Busby's young United side were given a European Cup baptism. The semi-final against champions Madrid proved to be a bridge too far for United, who included England internationals Duncan Edwards and Tommy Taylor in their starting lineup - both of whom died during the Munich air disaster a year later. The great Alfredo di Stefano was among the scorers for Los Blancos, who ran out 3-1 winners.
Real Madrid 3-3 Man United, May 1968
Eleven years previously, United were well beaten in the Bernabeu. This time around though, and still under the guidance of Busby, the English side were much more streetwise. Leading 1-0 from the first leg at Old Trafford courtesy of a goal from George Best, United found themselves three goals down at half time in Spain. However, Busby's side reached the final by cancelling out those strikes from the home side, including one unlikely goal from defender Bill Foulkes. United went on to defeat Benfica 4-1 after extra time to lift the trophy at Wembley.
Real Madrid 0-0 Man United, April 2000
It no doubt seems strange to include a 0-0 draw in an article such as this one. However, the performance of United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich is well worth a mention. The Aussie did not exactly enjoy the best of spells with United, but few goalkeepers have put up more resistance in a Champions League tie than Bosnich did that evening. It could have been even better for United had Andy Cole not spurned two glorious chances.
Man United 2-3 Real Madrid, April 2000
Sadly for United, all of Bosnich's hard work was undone during the return leg as the defending champions were knocked out at the quarter-final stage in their own back yard. The tie was over as a contest by the 52nd minute when Fernando Redondo produced an outrageous flick on the byline to beat Henning Berg, before cutting the ball back for Raul to put Real 3-0 up. The home side rallied and reduced the arrears through David Beckham and Paul Scholes, but it was a case of too little, too late.
Man United 4-3 Real Madrid, April 2003
United may have won the match, but the damage had been done during the first leg which Madrid had emerged victorious from by three goals to one. Even in the second leg at Old Trafford, United were outshone despite their success. The original Ronaldo produced one of the finest performances of his entire career. The Brazilian netted a hat-trick and was even applauded off the pitch by the majority of the crowd.
Liam Apicella
