Liverpool confirmed their place in this season's UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals with a 1-0 second-leg win against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday evening.

With Chelsea and Manchester United making it through to the last four on Tuesday night, England now has an unprecedented three teams in the Semi-Finals.

But many years ago, in the early days of European competition, we once had a situation where NINE English teams were involved in one competition's Semi-Finals.

Impossible, surely?

One of UEFA's vice-presidents had called a meeting in Basle to discuss a possible tournament for representative sides from European cities that organised trade fairs. The result was the launching of the "International Industries Fairs Inter-Cities Cup" in the autumn of 1955.

Commonly known as the "Fairs Cup", it drew entrants from ten cities. "Birmingham" simply entered Birmingham City's team but "London" was a selection of players from various Football League clubs in the capital.

Both London and Birmingham reached the two-legged Semi-Finals and London included players from eight different clubs - Arsenal, Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur.

After losing the first leg to Lausanne Sports 2-1 in Switzerland, London won 2-0 at Highbury to qualify for the Final, with Jimmy Greaves scoring the first goal.

This was London's line-up for the second leg: Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), Stan Charlton (Arsenal), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Ken Coote (Brentford), Bill Dodgin (Arsenal), Derek Saunders (Chelsea), Roy Dwight (Fulham), Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea), Cliff Holton (Arsenal), Johnny Haynes (Fulham) and Billy Kiernan (Charlton Athletic).

The "Fairs Cup" had evolved into the "UEFA Cup" by the early 1970s.

Nine English teams in the Semi-Finals. Well, sort of.