Liverpool had a daunting challenge ahead of them as they travelled to the Santiago Bernabeu in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night. Real Madrid, the team that beat The Reds in the previous campaigns showpiece final, defeated Liverpool 5-2 in the first leg of their round of sixteen tie. As such, Jürgen Klopp’s team faced a steep uphill battle in order to progress.
Another problem for the Merseysiders is that prior to this year’s Champions League campaign even getting underway, online sportsbook in Canada make Los Blancos the favourites to retain their crown this team. Should they go on to do exactly that, they would lift the trophy for the 15th time in the club’s illustrious history. To put that achievement into perspective, the team with the second most European Cups to their name is AC Milan, and they have just seven titles to their name.
But stranger things have happened, especially in the Champions League. Every year there is a stunning comeback and Liverpool are partial to being the protagonists. Who can forget them coming back from the dead in the 2005 final to defeat AC Milan in Istanbul and lift the trophy against all odds?
With that being said, let’s take a look at the best Champions League comebacks in each of the last three seasons.
Real Madrid’s run to last year’s UEFA Champions League final was the stuff of fairytales. Their campaign got off to the worst possible start when they were beaten by lowly Moldovan minnows Sheriff Tiraspol in match week two. But Los Blancos bounced back to top their group.
That set up a tie with Paris Saint-Germain and an hour into the second leg, they found themselves 2-0 down on aggregate. Step-up captain Karim Benzema, who netted a 30-minute hat trick to fire his side into the quarterfinals. There, the reigning champions Chelsea would await them.
The Blues had eliminated Los Blancos in the semifinals the season before however, the club from the Spanish capital picked up a 3-1 lead at Stamford Bridge to all but seal their spot in the semifinals, or so they thought. The English side would take a 3-0 lead in the Bernabeu, only for Rodrygo to equalise with ten minutes remaining. King Karim would then score the winner in extra time to set up a date with Manchester City for a place in the final.
While the run had been the stuff of fairytales up until this point, football fans hadn’t seen anything yet. Real Madrid were brilliant in the first leg in Manchester but in the end, succumbed to a 4-3 defeat. When Riyad Mahrez gave the Blues a 1-0 lead on the night in the return leg, it seemed like Pep Guardiola’s side would be set to appear in a second consecutive final.
As the game ticked into the 90th minute, Real Madrid needed two goals to take the tie to extra time, and they found them. Firstly Rodrygo would find the net, before netting again just seconds later forcing the game into extra time. There, who else but Benzema would net an extra-time winner, sending them to the Paris final.
The 2020/21 campaign was a strange one for a number of reasons. The primary reason for that was that global events meant that fans couldn’t attend any matches, leaving ties without any atmosphere whatsoever. But the Champions League that season didn’t see any major comebacks.
As such, we have decided to give the honour of the best comeback that season to FC Porto. They headed to Turin defending a 2-1 lead but were huge underdogs thanks to Juventus possessing perhaps the best out-and-out striker in world football, Cristiano Ronaldo. The game finished 2-1 to the hosts after 90 minutes which saw the game head into extra time.
In the 115th minute, Portuguese midfielder Sérgio Oliveira would hammer home a 30-yard free kick – and with the away goals rule still in effect – left Juventus needing two goals progress. They would find one of them through Adrien Rabiot, but they couldn’t find a second, and the Portuguese side would progress to the last eight.
Heading into the 2019/20 Champions League season, Liverpool were the reigning champions. Alongside Manchester City, they were made the favourites once again for the trophy that season, and when Atletico Madrid were drawn to race The Reds in the second round, no one gave them much of a chance.
Los Rojiblancos picked up a 1-0 victory at the Wanda Metropolitano leaving everything to play for at Anfield. Liverpool would return the favour by winning 1-0 on home turf and sending the tie to extra time. There, Roberto Firmino would net in the 94th minute, giving Liverpool a 3-2 aggregate lead and with their spot in the quarterfinals all but assured. But you can never count Diego Simeone’s men out.
Marcos Llorente scored three minutes later, turning the tie on its head and leaving Liverpool needing to find another goal to progress. But then seven minutes on from that, the Spanish midfielder would score again, sparking scenes of absolute bedlam in the away end, as the supporters knew that the hosts scoring twice in the 15 minutes that remained was highly unlikely. Atleti would add a third through Alvaro Morata in extra time injury time, meaning that they came back from 2-0 down on the night to win 3-2, as well as securing a 4-2 aggregate victory and a spot in the last eight.
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