After Glasgow, when "Celtic" suffered an unexpected defeat of 0-1 against the semi-amateur team from Gibraltar, "Lincoln Red Imps", Goal.com decided to remember the ten biggest Champions League surprises of all time.
"Barcelona" 2 - 3 "CSKA" (1993) Johan Cruyff's "dream team" had recently become the tournament champions, so few expected them to struggle to qualify for the group stage against a team from Russia. Especially considering the first leg in Moscow ended in a draw of 1-1. Even after conceding the first two goals and falling behind 0-2, the "CSKA" team managed to achieve one of the most impressive comebacks in Champions League history, with goals from Evgeny Bushmanov, Denis Mashkarin, and Dmitry Korsakov securing them a sensational victory at "Camp Nou" stadium.
"Milan" 4 - 0 "Barcelona" (1994) "Barcelona" was the favorite. We were better assembled, more hungry for victories, and more experienced than we were in 1992 at "Wembley Stadium." "Milan" was not a team of the same level," - Cruyff spoke about the clubs' chances before the Champions League final. Unfortunately for the Dutch football legend, this was one of the few times when he was severely mistaken. Fabio Capello's team simply swept aside "Barcelona," with Daniele Massaro adding a brace and Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly also finding the net.
"The problem wasn't that we played badly. The problem was that we didn't play at all," - lamented the former "Barca" coach after the match.
"Borussia" 3 - 1 "Juventus" (1997) Although the German team had defeated "Manchester United" in the semifinals, they arrived at the final as clear underdogs, facing the previous year's champions, the players of "Juventus," who had triumphed over "Ajax" 6-2 in the semifinals. However, Karl-Heinz Riedle's brace in the first half put "Borussia" in a comfortable position. Alessandro Del Piero had managed to equalize, but then Lars Ricken scored one of the most beautiful Champions League final goals of all time and secured the victory for the German team.
"Fate was on our side," claimed a member of the German national team after the match.
"Manchester United" 1 - 1 "Porto" (2004) It was a match in which Jose Mourinho introduced himself to the entire football world. Although "Porto" won the first leg at home 2-1, the return match in England was separated from elimination by a few moments. However, Tim Howard failed to catch Benny McCarthy's penalty, and Costinha, who had rushed to the rebounding ball, sent it into the opponents' net. Mourinho triumphed victoriously, while Alex Ferguson was stunned.
"We couldn't even imagine this," said the coach.
"Monaco" 3 - 1 "Real" (2004) When Raul scored a goal in the opponents' arena and his team "Real" was leading 5-2 overall, the hosts' hopes of progressing further seemed doomed to fail. However, the French team did not give up, and after Ludovic Giuly's goal, the team emerged from the tunnel with the scoreboard showing a 1-1 draw. In the second half, Giuly found the net again, and the final stab into the "Real" heart was made by Fernando Morientes, who scored with a precise shot, stunning the entire Madrid team.
"No one could have predicted such a turn of events, but this is football, and smaller clubs can always defeat bigger ones. That is the beauty of this game," enthused Didier Deschamps, who had coached Monaco at the time.
"Deportivo" 4 - 0 "Milan" (2004) "We won the first leg 4-1, and our chances of advancing seemed equal to what we should see when Rino Gattuso finishes his arts studies," admitted Andrea Pirlo. However, Carlo Ancelotti's players suffered one of the most shocking and unexpected capitulations in the history of the Champions League. Walter Pandiani, Juan Valeron, and Albert Luque stunned the Italians in the first half, and Frana sealed the deal in the second half.
"We forgot that we needed to play," Pirlo regretfully expressed the reason for the defeat after the match.
"Milan" 3 - 3 "Liverpool" (2-3 after penalty shootout) (2005) Just a year later, the "Milan" team suffered an even more painful setback when they again squandered a three-goal lead, but this time they did it in the final. After an outstanding first 45 minutes by the Italian team, during which they built a three-goal lead, what Carlo Ancelotti later called "moments of madness" occurred. "Milan" even after their opponents equalized continued to dominate on the field, but Jerzy Dudek, who initially made a miraculous save from Andriy Shevchenko's shot, later became the hero for his team in the penalty shootout.
You can view images from these games by clicking on this link.
"APOEL" 1 - 0 "Lyon" (4-3 after penalty shootout) (2012) Just reaching the extra time of the second leg was considered an incredible result for the Cypriot representatives, so the elimination of the "Lyon" team in the quarterfinals was truly astonishing. "APOEL" lost the first leg 0-1, but Gustavo's accurate strike led to extra time and later to a penalty shootout. In it, the Cypriots prevailed, becoming one of the top eight strongest teams in the country's football history for the first time.
"We have a budget of around 9 million euros. "Lyon" has spent 140 million euros just on player acquisitions in the last two years!" - emphasized "APOEL" vice president Theo Kyriakides, stressing the incredible achievement.
"Barcelona" 2 - 2 "Chelsea" (2012) "The best team doesn't always win," predicted Fernando Torres before the match. After goals from Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, "Barca" led 2-1 in the shootout, but a foolish red card for John Terry further complicated the situation for "Chelsea." However, "the Blues" did not give up, and Ramires' goal allowed "Chelsea" to take the lead due to the away goal rule. Then Lionel Messi failed to score by missing an 11-meter penalty, and Fernando Torres, who broke away from the goalkeeper, ensured an unexpected route for the London club to the final.
"Bayern" 1 - 1 "Chelsea" (3-4 after penalty shootout) (2012) "Chelsea" was given even fewer chances against the German giants than in the semifinal duel with "Barca." With just seven minutes left until the end of regular time, it seemed that "Chelsea's" luck was about to run out when Thomas Muller put "Bayern" ahead. However, Didier Drogba's goal in the 88th minute leveled the score, and in the penalty shootout, he scored the decisive goal.
"I cannot put into words how I feel. It was a tragic night," said Arjen Robben, who missed a penalty during extra time that could have sealed "Bayern's" victory.
