Chelsea beware - five great CL comebacks
With Inter Milan achieving one of finest second-leg recoveries in Champions League history and FC Copenhagen being challenged to deliver an even more unlikely one at Chelsea to reward those backing them to qualify at [110.0], we recall five of the most memorable comebacks the competition has ever seen...
Note: This list only considers two-legged fixtures to have taken place since the change of format
Linfield v FC Copenhagen (1993-94)
We couldn't snub the opportunity to include a FC Copenhagen comeback against British opposition, even though Linfield are clearly no Chelsea! The Danes were humbled 3-0 in Belfast but won by the same scoreline in the return leg thanks to a last-gasp Lars Hojer goal, then progressed in extra time.
Ajax v Panathinaikos (1995-96)
Until last night, Louis van Gaal was the only coach to have inspired a fightback after a home first-leg loss in the Champions League. Could you envisage a more painful way of surrendering such a record? His Ajax side struck early through Jari Litmanen in Greece to level the tie, before scoring twice late on.
Chelsea v Barcelona (1999-00)
This collision showed there is no such thing as a consolation goal in the Champions League, Andreas Andersson's second-half goal for a Barcelona team trailing 3-0 at Stamford Bridge giving the Catalan club belief that they could fight back at the Camp Nou. They won 3-1, then netted twice in extra time.
Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen (2001-02)
Abel Xavier's equaliser before half-time at the BayArena put Liverpool 2-1 up on aggregate - Sami Hyypia getting the winner against his future employers at Anfield - so the hosts needed two second-half goals. They found three courtesy of Michael Ballack, Dimitar Berbatov and Lucio to defeat the Reds 4-2.
AC Milan v Deportivo La Coruna (2003-04)
This campaign saw Monaco salvage a 5-2 deficit against the mighty Real Madrid, but even that was outshone by perhaps the greatest second-leg recovery ever. Deportivo lost 4-1 at the San Siro yet stormed into a 3-0 half-time lead at home before Fran completed an embarrassing night for Carlo Ancelotti.
Any glaring omissions? Did Manchester United's turnaround against Roma deserve a mention due to the emphatic margin? Put us right below...
Published: 16 Mar 2011
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