Chelsea faced Liverpool in 2003 in what has proven to be one of the club's most important victories in their history. Not only did the win confirm Champions League football for the Blues, but mere weeks later Roman Abramovich purchased the club and set them on the path to success.
The game against Liverpool started poorly, though, with Sami Hyypia opening the scoring at Stamford Bridge for the visitors. Marcel Desailly managed to equalise just minutes later, before Jesper Gronkjaer struck the winner in the 27th minute.
In doing so, Gronkjaer convinced Abramovich to purchase Chelsea, who ultimately turned the Blues into also-rans into one of the pre-eminent forces in England - funded by the Russian oligarch's money.
Chelsea transformed by victory against Liverpool
Carlo Cudicini played in goal for Chelsea during the game, and recognises just how important it felt at the time and eventually turned out to be.
"It was without a doubt one of the most important matches that I played in my career," Cudicini tells FourFourTwo.
"It wasn’t just Champions League football – it was a whole club at stake. Given Chelsea’s subsequent history, there was so much riding on that game. If we hadn’t qualified for the Champions League, we would have been in serious financial difficulty, and on top of that I’m not sure if Abramovich would have bought the club at all. It was a huge, huge match.
"Being involved in that game feels like playing a significant role in the history of Chelsea."
The 2003/04 season proved a real turning point for Chelsea, with the Blues finishing second in the league behind Invincibles Arsenal and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Hernan Crespo, Claude Makelele, Damien Duff, Juan Sebastian Veron and Adrian Mutu all arrived for big money, too, ahead of Jose Mourinho replacing Claudio Ranieri in the dugout in the summer of 2004. Under the Portuguese boss in his firs spell they won back-to-back Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups, proving just how significant that game against Liverpool was.
Without Abramovich, it's fair to say the majority of that would never have happened, with the two Champions League crowns that have followed also unlikely, too.
