10. Werder Bremen 5-3 Anderlecht, 1993/94
It's a good job that Werder Bremen manager Otto Rehhagel was an optimistic sort. Despite his team being 3-0 down with only 24 minutes to play, he always believed – mainly because he had Wynton Rufer. The New Zealander may not be a household name, but so impressed was Rehhagel in his first training session that he asked his forward why he wasn't playing for Real Madrid.
Sure enough, Rufer’s chipped 66th-minute goal offered hope; a Rune Bratseth header six minutes later, actual belief. Panic set in for Anderlecht, and Werder's goal avalanche ended with Rufer hitting a second. The Miracle of the Weser.
9. Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Malaga, 2012/13
Malaga were the quarter-final reward for Borussia Dortmund after the Germans had negotiated a group that featured Manchester City and Real Madrid, then brushed aside Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16. The Spaniards were no easy proposition, mind: boss Manuel Pellegrini could have called upon the likes of Santi Cazorla, Jeremy Toulalan, Joaquin and Roque Santa Cruz, not to mention a particularly exciting youngster by the name of Isco.
The opening leg in Spain ended goalless, but the second was bonkers. Joaquin fired Malaga ahead, but Robert Lewandowski levelled shortly before the break. The second half was end-to-end, and eventually BVB were punished as they went for victory, falling behind to Eliseu’s 82nd-minute tap-in. Away goals meant the hosts needed to score twice in eight minutes.
Well, eight minutes and injury time. Marco Reus netted in the first of those before Felipe Santana bundled home a sensational late winner – with four Dortmund players offside. Malaga were not best pleased.
8. Ajax 2-3 Tottenham, 2019
One of the greatest comebacks in the competition’s illustrious history, Tottenham deservedly fought back from 2-0 down to progress to their first ever Champions League final. Ajax had won the first leg 1-0 in north London and doubled their aggregate advantage early on in the return fixture, before Hakim Ziyech seemingly put the game beyond Spurs 10 minutes before half-time.
The Premier League side had created opportunities in the opening period, though, and Lucas Moura’s quick-fire double after the break put the semi-final back in the balance. Ajax eventually stabilised and looked to have ridden out the storm, only for Lucas to pop up with an astonishing decider – Spurs advanced on away goals – in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
7. Juventus 2-3 Manchester United, 1998/99
To say that Roy Keane’s display in this game was among his best for Manchester United is like saying that Henry VIII was a little bit of a horror.
When the offside Filippo Inzaghi put Juve 2-0 up inside 11 minutes – and 3-1 on aggregate – it was a Keano-inspired display that led the Red Devils into the Camp Nou final through sheer force of will. The whole-hearted Irishman scored, got booked and played a vital role in Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole’s goals to reach a showdown he was forced to miss through suspension.
6. Monaco 3-1 Real Madrid, 2003/04
You're not really supposed to celebrate goals against former employers according to modern football… so what about when you’re on loan and your parent club are still paying 65 per cent of your wages?
Apparently that doesn't apply if you're Fernando Morientes. Monaco were 5-2 down on aggregate with 45 minutes remaining against a side boasting former club-mates Raul, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, only for Morientes to lead a stunning comeback. First, he assisted Ludovic Giuly, before his own header gave the French side genuine hope. When Giuly completed his brace, Real were finished.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” Morientes declared.
5. Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 Milan, 2003/04
No team had ever managed to overturn a three-goal first-leg deficit in the history of the Champions League, so Deportivo didn't exactly harbour much hope in trying to repair a 4-1 mauling by holders Milan on home soil.
But boss Javier Irureta had a dream – literally, becoming convinced that his players would pull through on the morning of the match. Incredibly, future Birmingham striker Walter Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valeron and Albert Luque (later of Newcastle) gave Depor a 3-0 half-time lead.
Fran’s astonishing 76th-minute winner left Carlo Ancelotti white as a ghost. “The game turned out exactly the way I dreamt it,” Irureta beamed.
4. Milan 4-0 Barcelona, 1993/94
“You’re better than them,” Barça coach Johan Cruyff told his team. “You are going to win.”
His players, who had lifted the trophy two years earlier and four consecutive league titles, didn't doubt him.
Centre-back Miguel Angel Nadal recalls the squad thinking they were “guaranteed” to triumph, partly thanks to having Europe’s deadliest frontline – Hristo Stoichkov and Romario – up top. And yet Fabio Capello thought he could “relax” because Cruyff (who'd reached UEFA’s foreigner limit) didn’t pick Michael Laudrup, which turned out to be the case as Milan shut off Barcelona’s supply line.
Daniele Massaro netted two, and Marcel Desailly hit the fourth, but it was playmaker Dejan Savicevic who stole the show with a glorious 47th-minute lob that Barcelona would have been proud of. Cruyff’s Dream Team were never the same again.
3. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich, 1998/99
2. Barcelona 6-1 Paris Saint-Germain, 2016/17
“This is a sport for crazy people,” said Barça coach Luis Enrique. “I’d like to cry, but tears don't come out.”
Bewilderment seemed the only fitting response after the most preposterous game in recent footballing memory. Barça were only playing for pride, really, having been devoured 4-0 in Paris three weeks earlier, but somehow they had a 3-0 lead within 50 minutes thanks to Luis Suarez, Layvin Kurzawa's own goal and Lionel Messi spot-kick.
Hope was brutally punctured at the Camp Nou, however, when Edinson Cavani’s 62nd-minute strike left the Catalans needing three more to go through. Ludicrously, they somehow got them all in the last five minutes. Two Neymar goals and a late Sergi Roberto winner caused incredible scenes of delirium, capping a stunning, mental fixture.
1. Milan 3-3 Liverpool, 2004/05
The Miracle of Istanbul, as it must be legally referred to at all times, is European football’s most implausible and engrossing clash. Liverpool were well-drilled and had talent, but this was a side with Djimi Traore at left-back – in a team that had finished 37 points behind Chelsea that year.
What set this apart was the sheer shock of the comeback. Paolo Maldini had netted from Milan’s first attack, then Hernan Crespo added two more. Liverpool were being humiliated.
But then something magical: an extraordinary rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone at the interval, and then the madness began: Didi Hamann marshalled Kaka, Steven Gerrard took control, and in six minutes – thanks to Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso – Liverpool were level. And yet the adversity wasn't over: you can't forget Jerzy Dudek’s point-blank save to deny Shevchenko, Gerrard’s demonic drive and Jamie Carragher’s cramp-ravaged warfare.
Then came the shootout, where Dudek’s spaghetti-leg nostalgia – and his saving of that final spot-kick at 12.29am local time – earned Liverpool their fifth European Cup. The Champions League's greatest ever game.
