Greatest comebacks in football history

Sporting comebacks are special, a big part of why we watch. And in football, nothing makes the atmosphere quite so electric as a dramatic late turnaround.

By that point, supporters of the losing team have sometimes seen enough, but leaving early is a mistake – because you just never know.

Football history is filled with epic and improbable turnarounds, of match reports rewritten and narratives changed by unexpected or late fightbacks.

Here, from World Cup classics to epic Champions League nights, a look at some of the greatest comebacks ever in the men's game...

32. Nigeria vs Brazil (1996)

Brazil sent a formidable squad to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, including the likes of Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and Bebeto. And after cruising through their group with three wins, the South Americans beat Ghana 4-2 in the quarter-finals.

Looking very much the team to beat, Brazil went 3-1 up against Nigeria in the last four and were still leading by that score with 13 minutes left. But Victor Ikpeba gave the Super Eagles a lifeline on 78 minutes and with time ticking away, Kanu stunned Brazil with a 90th-minute equaliser. And in extra time, the former Ajax and Arsenal striker scored again to seal a memorable comeback. Nigeria came from behind again in the final to beat Argentina 3-2 and claim the gold medal.

31. Valencia vs Basel (2014)

Valencia pulled off a brilliant comeback at Mestalla in April 2010 to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg against Basel and advance to the Europa League semi-finals.

Two goals from Paco Alcácer and another from Eduardo Vargas levelled the scores at 3-3 and after Marcelo Díaz and Gastón Sauro were sent off for the Swiss side in extra time, the former Spain striker completed his hat-trick and Juan Bernat added a fifth amid jubilant scenes at Mestalla. Valencia went on to lose on away goals to Sevilla in the last four.

30. Real Madrid vs Manchester City (2022)

Real Madrid lost 4-3 to Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Etihad in April 2022, but Los Blancos celebrated their late third goal almost as if it were a winner.

With good reason. It gave Madrid a chance in the second leg. There was still plenty of work to be done, though, and after comeback wins against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in previous rounds, it looked a step too far after Riyad Mahrez made it 5-3 on aggregate after 73 minutes at the Santiago Bernabéu. But Los Blancos never know when they are beaten in Europe and goals from Rodrygo in the 90th and 91st minutes forced extra time in an unbelievable late comeback. And five minutes after the restart, Karim Benzema's penalty secured a 6-5 aggregate win for Real in epic circumstances en route to the final and a 14th European Cup.

29. Sweden vs Germany (2012)

Goals from Miroslav Klose (two), Per Mertesacker and Mesut Özil gave Germany a commanding lead inside an hour of their World Cup qualifier against Sweden at Berlin's Olympiastadion in October 2012.

But the Swedes staged a remarkable fightback, halving the deficit in the space of four minutes through Zlatan Ibrahimović and Mikael Lustig, before Johan Elmander added another with just under a quarter of an hour left and Rasmus Elm levelled in added time to spark wild celebrations among the visiting fans and staff.

28. Bayern Munich vs Bochum (1976)

Bayern Munich thrashed Tennis Borussia Berlin 9-0 in the Bundesliga in early September 1976, but the Bavarian giants found themselves four goals down to Bochum away from home the following weekend with 53 minutes played.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge started the fightback in the 55th minute and Georg Schwarzenbeck netted another shortly afterwards. The legendary Gerd Müller then scored two more and a minute after his penalty, Uli Hoeness struck to put Bayern 5-4 ahead. Bochum hit back with 10 minutes left as Josef Kaczor made it 5-5, but Hoeness netted a dramatic late winner on 89 minutes to clinch a remarkable 6-5 victory for Die Roten.

27. Lyon vs Montpellier (2023)

There was little sign of what was to come when Alexandre Lacazette gave Lyon the lead against Montpellier in the teams' Ligue 1 clash in May 2023. But what followed was unbelievable.

Montpellier's Elye Wahi scored four goals in 15 minutes either side of half-time to turn the match completely on its head, only for Lyon to come storming back through Lacazette (twice) and Dejan Lovren to set up a thrilling finale. And in the 10th minute of added time, Lacazette converted a penalty to notch his fourth of the night and seal a sensational 5-4 comeback victory at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

26. Fulham vs Juventus (2010)

Fulham's run to the Europa League final in 2010 included an incredible comeback victory against Juventus in the last 16.

Beaten 3-1 in the first leg in Turin, the Cottagers went behind inside two minutes of the return and were left with a mountain to climb. But Bobby Zamora made it 1-1 on the night, Zoltan Gera scored twice and Clint Dempsey added a late fourth to stun the Italian giants as Fulham came from 4-1 down in the tie to win 5-4 on aggregate on a historic night at Craven Cottage.

25. Arsenal vs Reading (2012)

Arsenal travelled to Reading for a fourth-round tie in the League Cup in October 2012 and the Gunners found themselves 4-0 down inside 37 minutes at the Madejski Stadium.

Theo Walcott pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time and Olivier Giroud grabbed another after 64 minutes. With time ticking away, Laurent Koscielny cut the deficit to 4-3 and in the sixth minute of added time, Walcott levelled at 4-4 to force extra time. Marouane Chamakh put Arsenal in front for the first time, but Reading came back for 5-5 through Pavel Pogrebnyak. Walcott then completed his hat-trick and Chamakh added another in added time to seal an incredible 7-5 win for the Gunners in an extraordinary cup tie.

24. Turkey vs Czech Republic (2008)

Two goals down to the Czech Republic with under half an hour to play in their final group game, Turkey looked to be heading out of Euro 2008.

But Arda Turan pulled a goal back with a quarter of an hour left to play and Nihat Kahveci struck in the 87th and 89th minutes as Turkey conjured up a remarkable comeback to seal their place in the tournament's knockout stages. And in the last 16, they did it again as Semih Şentürk equalised against Croatia in added time at the end of extra time and Fatih Terim's side went on to win the penalty shootout.

23. Belgium vs Japan (2018)

Belgium's dramatic comeback broke Japanese hearts at Russia 2018 as the two teams produced a World Cup classic in the last 16 of the tournament in Rostov-on-Don.

After a goalless first half, the contest sprang into life as Japan netted twice in the space of four minutes through Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui. But Belgium stormed back with goals from Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini to set up a thrilling finale. And with extra time looming, Belgium poured forward on the break and Nacer Chadli delivered the decisive blow to cap a thrilling comeback for the European side. Japan's players were crestfallen, but more than played their part in a wonderful match.

22. Middlesbrough vs Steaua Bucharest (2006)

Middlesbrough's remarkable run to the 2006 UEFA Cup final featured away-goals victories against Stuttgart and Roma, as well as an impressive second-leg fightback versus Basel in the last eight.

But most memorable of all was their comeback against Steaua Bucharest in the semi-finals. Already a goal down from the first leg, Boro conceded twice in the opening 23 minutes and now needed four goals to progress. Massimo Maccarone started the turnaround on 33 minutes and second-half goals from Mark Viduka and Chris Riggott left Steve McClaren's men requiring just one more. And it arrived after 89 minutes as Maccarone headed home to spark jubilant scenes at the Riverside.

21. Roma vs Barcelona (2018)

Despite Barcelona's fragile away form in the Champions League, there appeared to be little danger as the Blaugrana took a 4-1 lead to the Stadio Olimpico for their quarter-final second leg against Roma in April 2018.

But Edin Džeko's early goal put Barça on the back foot and when Daniele De Rossi made it 2-0 from the penalty spot inside an hour, the Roma fans could smell an upset. And it duly arrived as Kostas Manolas headed home after 82 minutes to level the aggregate scores at 4-4 and send the Gialloblu through on away goals. 

20. Schalke vs Borussia Dortmund (2017)

The Revierderby clash between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke at the Signal Iduna Park in November 2017 looked like being a one-sided affair ats BVB stormed into a 4-0 lead inside 25 minutes after a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opener, a Benjamin Stambouli own goal and further strikes from Mario Götze and Raphaël Guerreiro.

With an hour played, the scoreline remained the same, but Schalke struck twice in the space of four minutes through Guido Burgstaller and Amine Harit and after Aubameyang was sent off, Daniel Caligiuri reduced the deficit to one goal in the closing stages. The comeback was on and in the fourth minute of added time, it was complete as Naldo netted to secure an incredible fightback in a derby clash which will live long in the memory.

19. Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid (1997)

Barcelona came from behind to beat Real Betis after extra time in a 3-2 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu in June 1997, but the Catalans produced an epic comeback against Atlético Madrid earlier in the competition.

Having knocked out Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate, Barça drew 2-2 at Atlético in the first leg of their quarter-final tie. In the return at Camp Nou, Bobby Robson's men found themselves 3-0 down with just over half an hour played after a Milinko Pantić hat-trick. But a treble from Ronaldo and goals from Luís Figo and Pizzi secured an unbelievable 5-4 win on the night as the Blaugrana advanced 7-6 on aggregate. Earlier, Pantić had scored again to make it 4-2 to the Rojiblancos and ended up on the losing side despite scoring four goals.

18. Manchester United vs Tottenham (2001)

Tottenham stormed into a 3-0 lead at home to Manchester United by half-time in September 2001 and White Hart Lane was rocking, but everything went wrong in the second half for Glenn Hoddle's side.

Andy Cole pulled one back straight after the restart, Laurent Blanc got another inside the hour and suddenly, Spurs looked nervous. Ruud van Nistelrooy levelled at 3-3 on 72 minutes, Juan Sebastián Verón completed the turnaround with the fourth shortly afterwards and David Beckham added a late fifth on an extraordinary afternoon in north London. One of many memorable comebacks for Sir Alex Ferguson's special side.

17. Mali vs Angola (2010)

As opening matches at major tournaments go, Angola's thrilling 4-4 draw against Mali in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations is hard to beat – although it will have made for painful watching for fans of the host nation.

Angola went in 2-0 ahead at half-time at Luanda's Estádio 11 de Novembro following a Flávio brace and added two more through Gilberto and Manucho (both penalties) to make it 4-0 with just over 15 minutes left to play. Mali's Seydou Keita pulled one back five minutes later in what looked a mere consolation, but Frédéric Kanouté headed in another on 88 minutes to make things interesting. Keita netted again in the third minute of added time and Mustapha Yatabaré capped an unbelievable late comeback with the leveller with just 15 seconds left on the clock to stun the home fans who had been in party mood just minutes earlier.

16. Real Madrid vs Derby County (1976)

Real Madrid have produced some epic European Cup comebacks in their time and perhaps the greatest of them all came against Derby County in November 1975.

After a bruising 4-1 defeat at the Baseball Ground, Los Blancos turned the tie on its head on a rousing night at the Santiago Bernabéu as goals from Roberto Martínez (two), Santillana and a late Pirri penalty replicated the first-leg scoreline and forced a period of extra time. In it, Santillana struck again to seal a 5-1 win on the night and a 6-5 aggregate scoreline.

15. Metz vs Barcelona (1985)

Metz met Barcelona in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and there was little hope for the French side after a 4-2 loss at home in the first leg.

Only two French journalists bothered to travel to Camp Nou for the return and French television did not even broadcast the match. After the first match, Barça midfielder Bernd Schuster had joked that he would receive the Metz players with some ham "to thank them for the gifts" in the first leg. But in front of a crowd of under 25,000 at Camp Nou, Metz stunned the Blaugrana after going behind as they hit four goals without reply – a hat-trick from Tony Kurbos and a Tente Sánchez own goal – to secure the most unexpected of comeback wins. And after the final whistle, Metz goalkeeper Michel Etorre ran straight up to Schuster and screamed: "Where's your ham now?"

14. Deportivo La Coruña vs AC Milan (2004)

AC Milan appeared to be cruising towards the semi-finals of the Champions League in March 2004 following an emphatic 4-1 win over Deportivo La Coruña at San Siro.

But the defending European champions were stunned two weeks later at Riazor as Deportivo produced a stirring fightback to win the match 4-0 and advance thanks to a 5-4 aggregate win after goals from Walter Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valerón, Albert Luque and Fran. One of the greatest nights in Depor's history.

13. Newcastle vs Arsenal (2011)

It was all too easy for Arsenal at St. James' Park in February 2011 as the Gunners went 3-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes and took a commanding 4-0 lead into the half-time interval.

But Abou Diaby's red card five minutes into the second half offered a glimmer of hope to the Magpies. More than a glimmer, in turned out, as Joey Barton (with two penalties), Leon Best and Cheick Tioté hit four goals without reply for the home side in the last 22 minutes to seal an unbelievable 4-4 draw.

12. Marseille vs Montpellier (1998)

Marseille found themselves 4-0 down at home to Montpellier in a Ligue 1 clash in August 1998 after first-half goals from Ibrahima Bakayoko (two), Laurent Robert and Franck Sauzée.

But the home side sparked into life with half an hour to play and stormed back to seal an improbable 5-4 victory thanks to goals from Florian Maurice, Christophe Dugarry (two), Éric Roy and a last-minute penalty dispatched by Laurent Blanc. The greatest comeback in Ligue 1 history.

11. Bayer Leverkusen vs Espanyol (1988)

Espanyol took a commanding 3-0 lead into the second leg of the 1988 UEFA Cup final after a memorable night at Sarrià in their first meeting with Bayer Leverkusen.

But the German side replicated that scoreline in the second leg thanks to a second-half fightback which featured goals from Tita, Falko Götz and a late leveller scored by South Korean forward Cha Bum-kun. And after a goalless period of extra time, Leverkusen went on to win 3-2 on penalties.

10. Barcelona vs IFK Göteborg (1986)

After beating Juventus in the last eight, Barcelona went into the European Cup semi-finals full of confidence, but everything went wrong for the Catalans in a 3-0 defeat away to IFK Göteborg in the first leg.

Back at Camp Nou in the return match, Barça produced one of the most memorable comebacks in the competition's history as Pichi Alonso hit a hat-trick to level the tie and Terry Venables' side prevailed 5-4 on penalties to advance to the final. Photos from that night show a young ball boy beaming alongside Alonso in the celebrations. That was a certain Pep Guardiola, who would be in the team when Barcelona finally got their hands on the trophy at Wembley six years later.

9. Tottenham vs Ajax (2019)

The night after Liverpool's extraordinary comeback against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals in May 2019, Tottenham produced an unbelievable turnaround of their own in Amsterdam.

Beaten 1-0 by Ajax at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mauricio Pochettino's side conceded twice in the first half in the return and needed a minor miracle to advance. But Lucas Moura scored two in the space of four second-half minutes to set up a thrilling finale and one more would send Spurs through on away goals. With Ajax fans counting down to the final whistle, Moura struck again in the sixth minute of added time to complete his hat-trick and cruelly deny the home side as Tottenham secured an epic win to advance to the Champions League final.

8. Manchester City vs QPR (2012)

Manchester City knew a win at home to Queens Park Rangers would be enough to clinch the Premier League title ahead of their fierce rivals Manchester United on the last day of the 2011/12 season.

But things did not go to plan and with Roberto Mancini's men trailing in added time, the dream looked dead. Hope returned after Edin Džeko's equaliser in the 92nd minute, though, and Sergio Agüero struck two minutes later to seal a thrilling turnaround which saw the title head to the blue side of Manchester for the first time. It is one of the Premier League's greatest-ever moments and on commentary for Sky, Martin Tyler's iconic "Aguerooooo!" scream summed it up perfectly.

7. Portugal vs North Korea (1966)

North Korea produced a huge upset by beating Italy and eliminating the Azzurri in the group stages of the 1966 World Cup. Against Portugal in the quarter-finals, the Asian side looked on course for an even bigger win.

Pak Seung-zin put North Korea in front in the very first minute at Goodison Park and further strikes from Li Dong-woon and Yang Song-guk made it 3-0 inside 25 minutes. But Portugal pulled one back through star man Eusébio two minutes later and the legendary Benfica forward struck four – including two penalties – to turn the game on its head. José Augusto added a fifth late on to seal what had looked like an improbable 5-3 win for the Portuguese.

6. West Germany vs Hungary (1954)

Heading into the 1954 World Cup final, Hungary were huge favourites. Unbeaten in 32 matches, the Mighty Magyars had been in formidable form and just a couple of weeks earlier, had thrashed opponents West Germany 8-3 in the group stages.

Hungary quickly went two goals up in the final through Ferenc Puskás and Zoltán Czibor inside eight minutes of what looked set to be another one-sided affair. But West Germany reduced the deficit through Max Morlock two minutes later and Helmut Rahn levelled the scores at 2-2 with 18 minutes on the clock. After that, the Hungarians dominated, but were unable to convert their chances and Rahn struck again on 84 minutes to give the Germans a shock lead. Puskás then saw an effort ruled out for offside and West Germany held on for a famous victory, which became known as The Miracle of Bern.

5. Liverpool vs Barcelona (2019)

Liverpool played well at Camp Nou in their Champions League semi-final first leg against Barcelona in April 2019, only to leave without an away goal in an extremely harsh 3-0 defeat.

That looked to be that, especially with Mo Salah missing for the secong leg after suffering concussion in a Premier League game against Newcastle just days earlier. But Divock Origi's early goal lit the blue (or red?) touchpaper at Anfield and after two second-half strikes in quick succession from substitute Georginio Wijnaldum, the Belgian reacted first to give Liverpool the lead in the tie after Trent Alexander-Arnold's quick corner. It was the first time any team had overturned a three-goal deficit in a European Cup semi-final since Barça came from 3-0 down to defeat IFK Göteborg at Camp Nou in 1986. And unlike the Blaugrana that year, the Reds went on to win the trophy.

4. Real Madrid vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (1985)

Real Madrid have become synonymous with epic fightbacks in the Champions League, but Los Blancos' best-ever European comeback arguably came in the old UEFA Cup in 1985/86.

In a third-round tie against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Madrid were thrashed 5-1 in Germany and looked to be heading out. But two goals each from Jorge Valdano and Santillana – his second to level the scores at 5-5 in the 88th minute – sealed an improbable away-goals victory at the Santiago Bernabéu. Madrid went on to win the trophy, beating FC Köln 5-3 on aggregate in the final.

3. Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain (2017)

Barcelona's form away from Camp Nou in the Champions League was becoming a big concern in 2017 and there looked to be no way back after the Catalans were thrashed 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the teams' last-16 tie.

But by the time the return match came around three weeks later, coach Luis Enrique had relieved some pressure by announcing he was off at the end of the season and the team was back on form. There was genuine belief it could be done and although Edinson Cavani's goal left Barça needing three due to the away-goals rule and time running out, Neymar scored a free-kick in the 88th minute and a penalty in the 91st to set up an electric finale. And with the crowd, along with the watching world, on their feet, Sergi Roberto struck in the fifth minute of added time to secure a 6-5 aggregate win which has become known in Spanish as "La Remontada" (simply, the comeback) and in Catalan as "La Remuntada".

2. Manchester United vs Bayern Munich (1999)

Manchester United did not play well in the 1999 Champions League final, but the Red Devils found some inspiration right at the end to stun Bayern Munich in added time at Camp Nou.

Trailing 1-0 to Mario Basler's early goal, United's treble hopes looked dead in the water as time ticked away. On ITV commentary, Clive Tyldesley famously said: "Can Manchester United score? They always score!" And they did – twice! Substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored the goals following two corners, the first after goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel had ventured forward to cause havoc in the box. Heartbreak for Bayern, ecstacy for United. "Football, bloody hell!" Sir Alex Ferguson said afterwards. Quite.

1. Liverpool vs AC Milan (2005)

Liverpool were 3-0 down at half-time to AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul and some Reds fans decided to leave the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.

Surely there was no way their team could come back against a Milan defence featuring Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Jaap Stam. But they did. Goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso levelled the contest with just over an hour played and after a heroic double save from Jerzy Dudek in extra time, the Pole saved two penalties in the shootout and appeared to distract Serginho into missing another as the Reds went on to seal the trophy in epic circumstances.