The greatest second-leg comebacks of all time
Atletico Madrid can take inspiration from these comeback kings, as it hopes to overcome a three goal deficit in tomorrow's (AEST) UEFA Champions League semi-final against bitter rival against Real Mad
With a sizeable first leg lead, it's seemingly impossible to blow it in the second leg but let these cases be a cautionary tale for Real Madrid, which carries a 3-0 advantage into tomorrow's UEFA Champions League semi final.
Los Blancos may have one foot in the final, but as these sides will attest, anything is possible heading into the second leg. Who better to spoil the party for Zinedine Zidane's side than bitter rival Atletico Madrid.
6) Real Madrid v Derby – European Cup second round, 1976
Derby was on track for a memorable upset win when Charlie George bagged a hat-trick in his side's 4-1 first leg win.
Beaming with confidence, the Rams strolled into the return leg like tourists on vacation, spending the lead up to the match sightseeing in Madrid.
Their vacation was short lived, with the home side prevailing 5-1 in front of 120,000 fans.
5) Partizan Belgrade v QPR – UEFA Cup, 1985
QPR eased past Partizan Belgrade with a 6-2 win in the first leg, before the Serbian staged a remarkable fightback in Belgrade, winning 4-0 to advance on away goals.
Everyone seemed to understand the away goals rule, except manager Alan Mullery who chased his players up the tunnel instructing them to head out for extra time.
Things went from bad to worse for the hapless manager, who was sacked by QPR weeks later.
4) Bayer Leverkusen v Espanyol – UEFA Cup final, 1988
Nobody gave Bayer Leverkusen hope after going down to Espanyol 3-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Cup final.
However in the return leg, the German side staged a comeback for the ages levelling the score on aggregate before going on to prevail in a tense penalty shootout.
Espanyol fans were understandably scarred, and have since dubbed the fixture ‘the Tomb of Leverkusen.’
3) Real Madrid v Monaco – UEFA Champions League quarter finals, 2004
Atletico Madrid fans take note, this is how to catch Real Madrid napping in the second leg.
Los Blancos were in cruise control after smashing four past Monaco in the first leg and looked certain to go on with it when Raul put them ahead in the return fixture.
Ludovic Giuly equalised on the stroke of half time, before Real Madrid reject Fernando Morientes came back to haunt his parent club, with a goal which inspired a memorable Monaco fightback.
Monaco needed one more goal to complete the turn around due to the away goals rule, and Giuly delivered to send Madrid packing.
2) Deportivo v AC Milan – UEFA Champions League quarter final, 2004
Deportivo faced the daunting prospect of facing AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League quarter finals, and the tie appeared all but over when Deprotivo capitulated in the first leg conceding four goals in nine minutes to lose 4-1.
Instead of cowering into its shell, Depor came out swinging in the second leg and raced away to a 3-0 before half time. The Spanish side picked up where it left off in the second half and Fran completed the remarkable fightback to stun the reigning European champion.
Former Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo summed up Deprtivo’s herculean effort, saying: “For the first and only time in my life, I wondered if my opponents were on something.”
1) Barcelona v PSG – UCL Round of 16, 2017
PSG put the rest of Europe on notice when it thumped Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of this season’s round of 16. Overcoming a four-goal deficit in the second leg was unprecedented, but if any side was capable of rewriting history, it was Barcelona.
Barcelona raced away to a 3-0 lead to give the Camp Nou faithful a glimmer of hope, before Edinson Cavani’s away goal appeared to be the knockout blow.
Just when Barca appeared down and out, a three-goal flurry in the last seven minutes saw Luis Enrique’s side pull off the greatest Champions League comeback of all time.
