The BIGGEST and best Champions League second leg turnarounds

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is something that good teams tend to do, and to pull these types of comebacks off in the Champions League knockout phase must feel extra special. So, what are the BIGGEST and most memorable comebacks in the tournament’s history? Let’s relive some of the most dramatic nights in elite European club football this millennium.

Barcelona 6-1 PSG (2016/17, round of 16)

Neymar’s night

Unai Emery’s team couldn’t have put themselves in a better position after a defensive clinic in the first leg earned them a 4-0 advantage heading to Camp Nou. Barcelona staged “La Remontada”, inspired by Neymar, to stun Emery and his PSG charges. When you have the iconic MSN trio on your side (Lionel

M

essi, Luis

S

uarez and

N

eymar), you always have a chance.

This was one of Neymar’s best nights as a professional footballer. He terrorised PSG’s defenders throughout the second leg, scoring twice and providing the assist for Sergi Roberto’s goal to clinch the tie, some 30 seconds before the end of stoppage time. Perhaps this performance convinced PSG to part ways with a world record fee of €222m to sign the brilliant Brazilian later that year.

To this day, it’s the only 4-goal turnaround over 2 legs in Champions League history. That arguably makes it the BIGGEST and best. La Remontada, literally translating to “the comeback” was the comeback of all comebacks. PSG were vanquished 6-5 on aggregate, making it 3 knockout defeats to the Catalans in the space of 5 years.

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (2018/19, semi-final)

Corner taken quickly

When Lionel Messi produced another one of his typical masterclass moments in the first leg, complete with a stunning free-kick into the top corner to beat Alisson, one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, there didn't appear to be a way back from 3-0 down for the Reds.

However, they produced one of the most stirring performances in Champions League history to send themselves to the final. Gini Wijnaldum and cult hero Divock Origi did the damage on an electric evening in May 2019 with a brace apiece. After the 2018 final heartbreak they suffered in Kyiv, Jurgen Klopp’s team went all the way that year. In many ways, it was meant to be. At least, Liverpool fans will tell you as much.

“Corner taken quickly” will forever bring a smile to the faces of Liverpool supporters around the world. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s speed of thought from a set-piece enabled Origi to pounce on a sleepy defence to score the crucial goal that will go down in Anfield folklore. Origi also went on to score the clinching goal in the final against Spurs on Spanish soil.

The scenes after the final whistle of Liverpool players being serenaded by a rapturous Anfield crowd were something special to witness. Messi found himself foiled, time and time again, by a determined Liverpool defence marshalled by Virgil van Dijk and Joël Matip. Mo Salah’s T-shirt with the words “never give up” said it all. Seeing really is believing. Ernesto Valverde’s Barça side simply couldn’t believe what had happened to them.

Deportivo La Coruña 4-0 AC Milan (2003/04, quarter-final)

The underdog bites back

Because of the relative size and stature of these 2 clubs, Depor’s comeback was arguably the BIGGEST shock out of any in this list. This was a star-studded AC Milan side with legendary Italian duo Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini in defence. They also had Cafu, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, Kaká and Andriy Shevchenko in their ranks.

This was a team that went all the way in 2003, lost in the final in 2005 and then won it again in 2007, making them one of the best teams in the world in the noughties. That’s what makes this turnaround even more sensational when you look back on it. How could they possibly squander a 4-1 first-leg advantage?

That’s not to say Depor didn’t have wonderful players of their own. Walter Pandiani, the ever-unpredictable, enigmatic Juan Carlos Valerón and Albert Luque were on the scoresheet in one of the most astonishing upsets in Champions League history, finished off by substitute Fran in the 76th minute.

At the time, it was the first and only instance of a side overturning a 3-goal first-leg deficit in the tournament and progressing to the next round. Arguably the greatest night at Depor’s Estadio Riazor. Their reward in the semi-final was a meeting with eventual champions Porto, under the tutelage of José Mourinho, who beat Monaco in the final. This was truly the year for surprises and underdogs.

Fast-forward to 2023 and Deportivo La Coruña find themselves in the third tier of Spanish football. What a difference a couple of decades can make.

Juventus 3-0 Atlético Madrid (2018/19, round of 16)

Don’t make CR7 angry

Atlético Madrid fans taunted Cristiano Ronaldo after Atléti’s 2-0 first leg win over Juventus with notions that the ex-Real Madrid man was finished at the top level. How wrong they were.

The knockout stage of the Champions League has typically been when Ronaldo comes alive and his second-leg hat-trick stunned the Atléti fans into silence. They must have regretted lighting a fire under the great man although it’s unlikely he even paid much attention to what they said before taking the invitation to turn the tie on its head.

For the record, Ronaldo and Messi have both scored 8 Champions League hat-tricks in their careers. PSG might need Messi to produce a ninth if they are to turn things around against Bayern Munich this season after a 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Paris.

Roma 3-0 Barcelona (2017/18, quarter-finals)

Roma rise from the ruins

Peter Drury has added his dramatic thoughts to many memorable football matches throughout his career, and Roma’s 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Italian capital certainly falls into that category. The Italians lost 4-1 in the first-leg, eventually prevailing 4-4 on aggregate courtesy of a critical away goal.

Bosnia and Serie A stalwart Edin Džeko, a man who hasn’t been shy to score BIG goals in BIG games (remember that one against QPR for Man City?) grabbed that all-important away goal and opened the scoring in the second leg. Roma started to believe.

When club legend Daniele De Rossi put the Giallorossi 2-0 up on the night from the penalty spot, the belief grew. Greek defender Kostas Manolas completed the comeback and Barça experienced the bitter taste they had put in PSG’s mouths just a season earlier. Mr Drury in the commentary box couldn't contain himself, screaming “Roma have risen from their ruins. Manolas, a Greek God in Rome. The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes.”