The UEFA cup is all about the excitement and passion of players and teams. There is no better way for a team to demonstrate their love for the sport of football than by making a comeback, There have been some truly amazing, and some would say miraculous, recoveries since the UEFA Cup commenced in 1971. All kinds of comebacks have been witnessed. Here are some of the top picks.
Manchester United vs Bayern Munich in the 1999 Final
Manchester United pulled off a remarkable win against Bayern Munich in 1999. Manchester was down a goal in the second half after Mario Basler scored in the sixth minute with a free-kick. It looked like their earlier wins in the Premier League and FA Cup would come unstuck in their quest for another huge success. As the game went into injury time, it looked like Bayern Munich would take the game.
However, Sheringham scored in the 91st minute after a fantastic cross by Beckham. At the very last minute of the game, another corner from Beckham ended in a goal by Solskjaer to the crowd’s amazement, resulting in a Manchester United win. It was their first European crown in 31 years and was another notch in the clubs momentous history. The team won the treble including the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Premier League. An amazing achievement.
Monaco vs Real Madrid in the 2004 Quarterfinals
Real Madrid was battling to retain their superiority in Europe after two years of trying to regain their UEFA championship status in Europe. In 2003 they lost their the semi-final to their European rivals Juventus. Juventus won the quarterfinals 4–3 on aggregate to the displeasure of Real Madrid fans. The following year in the 2004 quarterfinals, Real Madrid would finally regain their crown in Europe after an amazing comeback against Monaco. Real Madrid won 4-2 in the first leg, and Monaco looked as though their chance to make a UEFA final was over.
In the game, two things looked even worse for Monaco when Raul made it 5-2 on aggregate. However, Gully scored a goal from outside the box before halftime, giving Monaco a small glimmer of hope before the second half started.
Then Morientes started the second half with a brilliant header for Monaco. It looked like things were suddenly beginning to turn around for Monaco, and Real Madrid was under pressure to make the semi-final. Giuly ensured that the pressure would continue by scoring again, causing an eruption by the crowd and giving Monaco the win on away goals.
Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain in the 2017 Round of 16
Barcelona’s hopes looked dashed after losing 4-0 in the first half against Paris Saint Germain (PSG). Still, an almost miraculous series of events resulted in Barcelona slowly crawling back after PSG scored a home goal, followed by a goal by Iniesta for Barcelona in the first half, resulting in a 4-2 aggregate still to PSG.
Messi scored for Barcelona in the penalty box in the second half. However, a goal by PSG was scored after Cavani smashed the ball from inside the box, giving PSG a 5-3 aggregate. Barcelona bounced back after Neymar scored a penalty from way outside the box to make Barcelona even on aggregate. Roberto then scored after a ball was fed through from Neymar. Barcelona had a historic win because no team had ever come back from such a score. Barcelona scored three goals within seven minutes to make it one of the most unpredictable win in sport betting history.
Bayern Munich vs Porto in the 2015 Quarterfinals
Bayern Munich was looking for blood after losing 3-1 to Porto in Portugal, and their strength was shown to Porto after a real thumping in the second game of the final. Bayern shocked the newly confident Porto team by scoring five goals by half time.
An opening goal by Alcantara was followed by a header off a corner from Boateng into the bottom right of the net, This was followed by even better team play with Lewandowski heading another one. Muller followed and so did Lewandowski once again, and the last goal of the half was hit making it 5-0 and 6-3 on aggregate at the end of the first half. Martinez gave a little hope to Porto in the second half. Still, the Bayern team made the aggregate 6-4 in the second half. They finished off with Alonso scoring the last goal to give Porto a thrashing they will not forget after their early advantage in game one.
Deportivo La Coruna vs AC Milan 2004 Quarterfinals
Deportivo won the 2004 quarterfinals in 2004 5-4 on aggregate after one of the great comebacks in UEFA history, which saw the favourites and 4-1 leaders coming into the second game feeling confident.
AC Milan looked outclassed with Deportivo La Coruna taking a 3-0 lead by the end of the first half with goals to Pandiani, Valeron and a forceful drive from Luque. This made the score even on aggregate but having the away goal advantage. This left the crowd buzzing coming into the second half. Deportivo La Coruna put it beyond doubt and showed the resolve of a team which was decimated in the first game when club captain Fran volleyed another goal 14 minutes from the end of the game time. Deportivo had won 5-4 on aggregate and went into the tournament’s semi-finals for the first time.
It was an extraordinary comeback for several reasons, including it being the first time that a team had come back from a 3-0 game deficit to win. This was made even more profound by AC Milan’s record of not conceding a goal away the whole season. Milan was highly favoured to win after winning six times in the European championship. However, anything is possible in the finals as they have followed other big-name teams which have been caught by surprise. AC Milan just didn’t show on the night.
Barcelona vs Chelsea in the 2000 Quarterfinals
Chelsea were surprise winners in game one of the
championships in 2000, taking an incredible 3-1 win shocking many sports fans.
However, Barcelona knew that there would be a tough game in the second leg.
In the first half, Rivaldo scored for Barcelona off a free kick 25 yards out.
They then extended their lead to 2-0 after Figo scored. The aggregate was back
to a level 3-3 at half time. Chelsea amazingly pulled off a goal just when they
needed it after Flo scored. Luckily Garcia came to the rescue for Barcelona to
win with an equaliser forcing extra time. Rivaldo and Patrick Kluivert’s goal
then pushed Barcelona to a 6-4 aggregate victory. This was another great
victory for Barcelona but must have been devastating for Chelsea, as they were
never considered strong finals contenders during the season and had they won,
it would have shown up their critics.
Some comebacks are predictable, and a thrashing is inevitable, while others are
from teams which are real underdogs and have fought hard to gain a win against
impressive and well-publicised teams. Lastly, comebacks can come from teams
that have been unlucky or lost form but finally returned to greatness.
Regardless of a team’s status, it can be guaranteed that UEFA fans love to
watch a comeback.