The most incredible Champions League comebacks - ranked

The number of comebacks against the odds in the Champions League has increased dramatically in recent years. Teams at the top just don't seem to know when they're defeated anymore, as seen by the coupon-busting comebacks made by teams like Liverpool, Barcelona, and Real Madrid that will live in the memories of their supporters forever.

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Therefore, Chelsea and Bayern Munich fans will be hopeful that their clubs may add their names to this famous record of amazing results ahead of the 2022–23 quarterfinal second legs. In advance of those two teams' respective second legs, GOAL examines some of the successes that may offer them encouragement.

The number of comebacks against the odds in the Champions League has increased dramatically in recent years. Teams at the top just don't seem to know when they're defeated anymore, as seen by the coupon-busting comebacks made by teams like Liverpool, Barcelona, and Real Madrid that will live in the memories of their supporters forever.

Therefore, Chelsea and Bayern Munich fans will be hopeful that their clubs may add their names to this famous record of amazing results ahead of the 2022–23 quarterfinal second legs. In advance of those two teams' respective second legs, GOAL examines some of the successes that may offer them encouragement.

10. Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City AET (agg 6-5)

By the time Riyad Mahrez's 73rd-minute goal gave Man City a 5-3 advantage on aggregate against Real Madrid in the 2022 Champions League semifinals, Real Madrid had presumably used up all of their miracles.

Karim Benzema's 17-minute hat-trick helped them defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, and in the quarterfinals against Chelsea, they came only 10 minutes away from being eliminated before winning in extra time.

Rodrygo sprinted in front of Ederson in the 90th minute to finish Benzema's cut-back header

But they kept their most audacious act of escape for Pep Guardiola's Citizens. Madrid needed two goals after Mahrez's goal to send the match into overtime. Time passed and Santiago Bernabeu's optimism gradually faded.

Then, Rodrygo took place. The Brazilian sprinted in front of Ederson in the 90th minute to finish Benzema's cut-back header. They scored again a few seconds later. Once more, Rodrygo was the man, leaping high to direct Dani Carvajal's cross into the goal. Chaos resulted, and Madrid rode this wave of energy all the way to the championship game when a Benzema penalty secured them a historic matchup with Liverpool.

9. PSG 1-3 Manchester United (agg 3-3, Man Utd win on away goals)

In the first leg of their 2018–19 round of 16 match, Paris Saint–Germain humiliated Manchester United at Old Trafford. Despite the absence of Neymar for PSG, Kylian Mbappe was the star of the show, and United was fortunate to escape with a 2-0 loss that was made worse by Paul Pogba's late red card.

Lukaku gave United hope by scoring twice in the first half

While Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford weren't usually a show-stopping duo, they occasionally were. This was one of those times, and Lukaku gave United hope by scoring twice in the first half, one on either side of Juan Bernat's goal for PSG. As the expertise of Gianluigi Buffon, Thiago Silva, and Dani Alves waned, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer called in Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood from the bench.

Presnel Kimpembe diverted an effort from fellow substitute Diogo Dalot with 89 minutes gone, but VAR overturned the call after much deliberation and gave the opposition a penalty for handball in the 94th minute.

Rashford, who is only 21 years old, took the penalty shot and slammed it into the top-left corner of the goal. Neymar gawked as he observed. The golden times were returning in the eyes of United supporters.

8. Chelsea 4-1 Napoli AET (agg 5-4)

When Napoli defeated Chelsea 3-1 in 2012, Chelsea was in complete disarray. Andre Villas-Boas, who had been hired as one of the world's top young coaches, was having trouble. When the Blues were struggling in the Champions League, they fired him and replaced him with Roberto Di Matteo, a fan favorite whose only prior management experience was with MK Dons and West Brom.

Di Matteo changed Chelsea and turned the tie around

Di Matteo changed Chelsea and turned the tie around. After Gokhan Inler's goal, the Blues' senior three of Didier Drogba, John Terry, and Frank Lampard scored to force extra time, and Branislav Ivanovic then scored from Drogba's cross to seal the victory.

Chelsea defeated Benfica in the quarterfinals before famously defeating Barcelona in the semifinals, and they won the championship in front of their home fans against Bayern Munich. Few managers can claim to have had such a profound influence in such a short period of time, yet Di Matteo was fired by November.

7. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer frequently brings up the championship game from 1999, and with good reason. Mario Basler's six-minute free-kick appeared to have given Bayern Munich their first Champions League championship since their previous triumph in 1976 in front of a crowd of 90,000 at Camp Nou.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer frequently brings up the championship game from 1999

Prior to United pulling off one of the greatest final triumphs in history, Bayern had held the lead for 84 of the 90 minutes of normal play. Teddy Sheringham guided home from Ryan Giggs' effort after David Beckham's corner wasn't cleared, denying the Germans victory. Soon after, United secured a second corner. The ball was again sent by Beckham, Sheringham nodded it down, and Solskjaer came running to lift it into the goal.

Only 101 seconds separated the two goals. Four days earlier, Sir Alex Ferguson's team had won the FA Cup, and their triple is still unsurpassed in English football.

6. Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 AC Milan (agg 5-4)

In 2004, Deportivo surprised everyone by taking a 1-0 lead in the first leg of their match against the European champions in Milan. With a quick 4-1 victory, the Italian juggernauts made amends and started preparing for the semi-finals. After all, no team has ever come back to win a Champions League knockout match after falling down three goals.

Deportivo surprised everyone by taking a 1-0 lead in the first leg against Milan

Evidently, nobody informed Deportivo. Before the half, they had reached parity. The Spaniards ran laps around AC Milan, scoring goals from Walter Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valeron, and Albert Luque. Fran eventually won the game with a deflected shot off Cafu in the second half.

Late in the game, Rui Costa nearly forced Milan out of their hole with a strong long-range effort, but Jose Molina made an incredible stop to keep his team ahead and guarantee their advancement to the semifinals. Javier Irureta, the coach of Deportivo, hoped for a miracle and received one. He later traveled to Santiago de Compostela on a pilgrimage to honor a pledge.

5. Roma 3-0 Barcelona (agg 4-1)

In the first leg of their quarterfinal matchup for the 2017–18 season, Roma was defeated 4-1 in Barcelona, with two own goals being scored to aid the Catalans. However, they had a sliver of hope thanks to Edin Dzeko's important away goal.

The huge Bosnian played a crucial role in one of Rome's best evenings, despite not scoring the game-winning goal. After earning a penalty for Daniele de Rossi to smash home and cut the deficit after halftime, he first bundled the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Roma took the lead on goals scored away from home thanks to Kostas Manolas

Barca lost, and the Stadio Olimpico trembled. Roma took the lead on goals scored away from home thanks to Kostas Manolas, who met Cengiz Under's near-post corner and brilliantly flicked the ball inside the back post.

Lionel Messi received one final opportunity. He maneuvered through a packed penalty area but was unable to bring the ball down, stabbing it into Roma custodian Alisson's clutches, who then decided he would want to attempt another improbable comeback against Barcelona.

4. Ajax 2-3 Tottenham (agg 3-3, Tottenham win on away goals)

2019's semi-final comeback certainly did seem to appear out of nowhere. Tottenham finished second in the first leg and for most of the second, behind 3-0 at the break and without Harry Kane.

The entrance of Fernando Llorente at halftime altered the game as Spurs' other strikers centered around him. Ajax had previously defeated Real Madrid and Juventus and was headed for a mouthwatering final with Liverpool. 10 minutes into the second half, Lucas Moura was given the go-ahead by Dele Alli to sidefoot home, and the Brazilian retained his calm to find space in the penalty area and score again seconds later.

Ajax 2-3 Tottenham (agg 3-3, Tottenham win on away goals)

With 12 minutes remaining, Hakim Ziyech shot against the base of the post before recent Ajax academy product Jan Vertonghen headed off the bar at the opposite end. The energetic young side of Erik ten Hag finally gave way under the weight of Ajax's illustrious past in Europe.

The ball was dragged forward by Moussa Sissoko, pulled down by Llorente, prodded through by Alli, and Lucas struck the bottom corner five minutes and one second into stoppage time. Mauricio Pochettino appropriately rejoiced after leading his team to the greatest night in their history.

3. Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (agg 4-3)

Lionel Messi was aware that the task remained. He slumped to the ground in shock as Ousmane Dembele hoisted a feeble finish into Alisson's arms with the goal at his mercy as Barca led 3-0 at home in stoppage time.

The top player in this Barcelona club was aware that the team had a weak core. Messi must have had a nagging concern in his mind when he stepped to the Anfield pitch for the second leg of the 2018–19 semi–final, despite a dominant individual performance and one of the most legendary free-kicks ever scored.

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (agg 4-3)

Jurgen Klopp's team led at the half thanks to an early goal from Divock Origi, Liverpool's mysterious man of the greatest times, but two more goals were required. The rallying cry from Barca's official Twitter account was, "We score, Liverpool need FIVE - and we're going to get at least one... agreed?"

They were mistaken. As Georginio Wijnaldum tied the score with two goals in as many minutes, the sight of him trudging off the bench would live on in folklore among Liverpool supporters.

With Messi restrained and his teammates wilting around him, Barca was in disarray when Liverpool earned a corner. With a flash of brilliance, Trent Alexander-Arnold quickly grabbed it, and Origi hoisted it into the net's roof.

2. Barcelona 6-1 PSG (agg 6-5)

After a humiliating 4-0 loss in Paris in 2017, Barcelona was on danger of missing the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in ten years. The outcome appeared to indicate a changing of the guard as the nouveau riche put one of the most illustrious clubs in the world to the sword and declared their intention to usurp the throne of Europe.

In 213 attempts, a comeback from a 4-0 deficit had never occurred in this tournament, but Luis Suarez's scruffy first goal gave Camp Nou hope. A hilarious own goal by Layvin Kurzawa and two penalties by Lionel Messi on either side of halftime pulled Barcelona back into the game, but Edinson Cavani's astonishing away goal left the hosts needing three more.

Barcelona 6-1 PSG (agg 6-5)

Angel Di Maria and Cavani had good opportunities to conclude the match, but they failed to take advantage of them. Although Suarez and Messi had previously contributed, Neymar really had the night to himself. The winning goal came from a wonderful free kick in the 88th minute, a penalty in the 91st, and a gorgeous floating ball from deep to Sergi Roberto in the 95th. With the legendary "MSN," Barca was never out of a game.

1. AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (Liverpool win 3-2 on pens)

The Miracle of Istanbul may not be the best example, according to others. There have been rallies from bigger deficits and rallies where the game was already decided before a penalty shootout. However, this game's comeback serves as the standard by which all other comebacks are evaluated.

More than 15 million people now call the Turkish city, which was first settled more than 2600 years ago, home. However, when you mention Istanbul to any football fan, the first images that come to mind are Xabi Alonso bundling home on the rebound and Jerzy Dudek's wobbly legs in the 2005 Champions League final.

AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (Liverpool win 3-2 on pens)

The lineup for AC Milan on that particular day reads like a who's who of mid-2000s luminaries, and Paolo Maldini's first goal appeared to set the tone. Hernan Crespo's beautiful double ended the game before the half.

The rest you already know. From Shevchenko and Dudek all the way to Gerrard, Smicer, and Alonso. The outcome assured that no Liverpool supporter would ever again accept that a game was lost before full-time. It revived the Reds' love affair with Europe.

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