Awww, remember the Champions League group stage? Fun, wasn't it?
Well...it was when you got through, at least. It could also be tense and bloody horrible if you lost your first two games and had to hope against hopes you could get the results you needed while other sides did you some favours.
The stupidly-named Champions League league phase means we're not going to go back to that anytime soon...so let's reminisce about some of those brilliant great escapes from years past.
The 15 most miraculous Champions League group stage escapes
15. RB Leipzig 2020-21
Group H had PSG, RB Leipzig and Manchester United all level on nine points going into the final game. The Parisians had the simplest task against bottom-of-the-group Istanbul Basaksehir, and duly delivered a 5-1 win. That essentially won them the group on its own, as they already had the away goals advantage over both RB Leipzig and United.
But of course, things were less straightforward in Leipzig. A draw would have done just fine for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, who had smashed Leipzig 5-0 at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture. That made it a must-win for Leipzig - and they got off to a perfect start as Angelino put them ahead inside two minutes before Amadou Haidara doubled the lead on 13 minutes. A Justin Kluivert strike midway through the second half had them coasting.
So why is it a miraculous escape? Well, for starters, Leipzig had needed a last-minute winner to beat Basaksehir 4-3 having earlier blown a two-goal lead. And even their final game ended up extremely tense after Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty, sending the Leipzig defence into a panic that led to an Ibrahima Konate own goal. An equaliser could not be counted out - but Leipzig held on to see out the win and progress to the knockouts.
14. Atalanta 2019-20
Atalanta didn't win any of their first four group games in the 2019-20 Champions League. How they managed to qualify for the next round at the expense of Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk was nothing short of baffling – and they'd even give eventual finalists Paris Saint-Germain a run for their money later on in the competition.
La Dea were spanked 4-0 in Zagreb and 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium, either side of conceding a last-minute winner to Shakhtar's Manor Solomon at home (well, in Milan). Half-time in the group stage saw them rooted to the bottom – and they were heading out, too, when Raheem Sterling put Manchester City 1-0 up against them in the fourth game.
Somehow though, they managed to equalise and cling onto a point against a City side that were reduced to 10 men when Claudio Bravo was sent off. Kyle Walker was sent between the sticks for the away side and City couldn't really threaten for the rest of the match. That draw was a base to build on as Atalanta squeezed out of the group with two more wins, to batter Valencia 8-4 on aggregate in the next round.
13. Tottenham Hotspur 2018-19
Tottenham Hotspur advertised their new stadium in 2018 as the only place to watch Champions League football in London: a cheeky dig at rivals Arsenal and Chelsea both playing in the Europa League that season. It almost bit Spurs in the backside when they looked like crashing out of the competition before their delayed new ground had got to host a match.
Defeat away to Inter and a Messi-inspired Barcelona seemed vaguely predictable, but when Luuk De Jong fired an equaliser for PSV in Eindhoven, it looked like Tottenham might not even get to play in the same competition as their city rivals.
Huge wins over Inter and PSV at Wembley followed before a mammoth performance from Mauricio Pochettino's side in the Camp Nou secured one last point to put them into the next round.
12. Arsenal 2015-16
Group F should have been straightforward for Arsenal: sure, they had Bayern Munich for company, but Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos should have made for comfortable cannon fodder and safe progression to the knockouts.
Not so. After the Gunners were humbled 2-1 in Zagreb – the Croatians' first Champions League win since September 1999 – they were beaten 3-2 at Olympiacos despite twice coming from behind. A shock 2-0 win over Bayern at the Emirates Stadium looked to have got things back on track, but Arsene Wenger's side were thrashed 5-1 in the reverse fixture.
After four games they had three points; the same as Dinamo Zagreb, and six fewer than Olympiacos with only two games to go. But then came the fightback: Arsenal whipped Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on Matchday Five while Bayern stuck four past Olympiacos, setting up a do-or-die final game against the Greek side in Piraeus. But they needn't have worried: Olivier Giroud's hat-trick sealed a memorable win… and safe passage to a last-16 tonking from Barcelona.
11. Manchester City 2014-15
Having fallen at the group stage in two of their three Champions League campaigns to date, there was an ominous sense of history repeating itself in 2014 after Manchester City failed to win any of their first four group games, including a particularly galling defeat at home to CSKA Moscow. Bottom of the group and two points behind CSKA and Roma, they still had Pep Guardiola's Bayern to come again.
When they trailed the German giants 2-1 at home with five minutes left, City fans could have been forgiven for resigning themselves to another season of failure. But Sergio Aguero, and all that. Having netted City's first goal from the spot, the brilliant Argentine equalised on 85 minutes and then capitalised on a rare blunder from former Citizen Jerome Boateng to poke in a dramatic 91st-minute winner.
Roma and CSKA's draw that same night still had the Italians ahead of City on goal difference going into their final game in Rome. There, after a nervy hour, Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta both struck in a 2-0 win to see Manuel Pellegrini's men safely through. Phew.
10. Celtic 2012-13
Neil Lennon’s men forged a reputation for punching above their weight in Europe, and their excellent display of courage and resilience in this campaign showed exactly why. After a decent start, with four points from their first three matches, Lennon's men hosted Barcelona at Celtic Park after losing 2-1 in the Camp Nou.
Despite seeing just 16.4% of the ball, the Scots went ahead through Victor Wanyama before sealing victory late via youngster Tony Watt. Lionel Messi's injury-time effort was a mere consolation; Celtic won with the lowest recorded possession figure since Opta began collecting the data in 2006/07.
The Bhoys lost at Benfica in their penultimate game, leaving them third on goal difference, but grafted to a 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Moscow in their final match thanks to Kris Commons' 81st-minute spot-kick.
9. Bayern Munich 2009-10
Bayern Munich had been less-than-impressive in Europe after winning just four points from as many games, including back-to-back defeats against Bordeaux.
Louis van Gaal's job was under intense scrutiny, and the Dutchman needed big results fast. Four points behind Juventus in third place, Bayern had to win their final two games while hoping other results went their way.
Yet incredibly they managed both, after a 1-0 home win over Maccabi Haifa and a 4-1 crushing of Juve in Turin, it left them with 10 points and qualification ahead of the Bianconeri. With spirits high after their unlikely escape, Bayern went all the way to the final before losing out to Jose Mourinho’s Inter at the final hurdle.
8. Liverpool 2007-08
Never do it the easy way, do they? Liverpool took just one point from their first three games in 2007, despite being drawn in a pretty unremarkable group alongside Besiktas, Marseille and Porto.
But once they got going, they were back at their best. Their 8-0 win over Besiktas set a new record for the Champions League era that Real Madrid equalled against Malmo in 2023, which has still not been broken. They then claimed a 4-1 win over Porto, with their final three goals coming in the final 12 minutes of the game.
Liverpool and Marseille were level on points as Rafa Benitez prepared to take his side to Stade Velodrome, but with head-to-head record the decider and having lost to the French side at Anfield, Liverpool needed to win to go through. No problem: they were 2-0 up within 11 minutes thanks to Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, with Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel making it 4-0 in the second half.
7. Olympiacos 2007-08
Despite being the fifth-lowest-ranked team in the competition that year, Olympiacos managed to survive a group that also contained Real Madrid, Werder Bremen and Lazio.
Takis Lemonis’ men were unanimously predicted to finish rock bottom but played out of their skins to become the season’s surprise package.
Claiming a double over Bremen and a goalless draw against Madrid at the Karaiskakis Stadium, the Greeks stormed through to qualify behind the Spaniards – five points clear of Bremen.
6. Werder Bremen 2005-06
After collecting just four points from five games, Werder Bremen required a minor miracle going into their final game against Panathinaikos. Level on points with the Greeks and needing victory themselves, Barcelona to beat Udinese and a four-goal swing overturning, the odds were stacked firmly against Thomas Schaaf's side.
But the Bundesliga club produced a thrilling finale to their group stage adventure by smashing Panathinaikos 5-1.
It looked as though their five-star display would be in vain, though, until their Catalan friends produced a late show of their own, scoring twice in the last five minutes to knock Udinese out. Cruel.
5. Liverpool 2004-05
The minor miracle before the major miracle in Istanbul. Three points adrift of Olympiacos, Liverpool needed to beat the Greek side at Anfield in their final game having lost 1-0 in the reverse fixture.
A 1-0 win would have done for Liverpool, but when Rivaldo scored for Olympiacos midway through the first half, it changed the picture completely: although Liverpool had the superior goal difference, away goals between two sides level on points were more important in deciding who went through.
That meant Liverpool now needed to win by at least two goals, and they went in at the break a goal down and in need of something special. They got it in triplicate: Florent Sinama Pongolle and Neil Mellor both scored within minutes of coming off the bench in separate substitutions, then Steven Gerrard struck his brilliant long-range effort four minutes from time.
4. Porto 2003-04
Nobody fancied then-UEFA Cup champions Porto going into the Champions League that year, but a young Jose Mourinho was determined to announce himself in style. Before he sprinted down the touchline at Old Trafford, the Portuguese prince masterminded a great escape from Group F.
After a 3-1 home defeat to Real Madrid left them on one point from two games, Porto stormed through the final four with 10 points from a possible 12.
They collected wins over Didier Drogba's Marseille and then Partizan Belgrade, before drawing with Madrid at home. The Portuguese giants climbed out of the group scathed but alive before kick-starting their stunning tilt at European domination.
3. Lokomotiv Moscow 2003-04
Qualifying alongside Arsenal in second place in 2003-04 (more on which in a minute) were the Russians, who had defied the odds to oust Inter Milan and Dynamo Kyiv.
After amassing just a single point from their first two fixtures – a goalless home draw against Arsenal – Lokomotiv were rock bottom of Group B, exactly where most people thought they'd stay.
But they were determined to leave with more than just pride. The capital outfit took four points off Inter, including a 3-0 hammering of the Italian giants at home, and claimed a 3-2 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the penultimate game to finish above Inter and hang on for a place in the last 16.
2. Arsenal 2003-04
Despite becoming the ‘Invincibles’ in the Premier League, the Gunners were far from impenetrable in Europe that season, losing two of their first three group games – including a 3-0 hiding from Inter at Highbury.
But after Ashley Cole snatched a crucial 88th-minute winner in their fourth game against Dynamo Kyiv, Arsenal went on to annihilate Inter Milan 5-1 at San Siro in arguably their most formidable European display, led by the brilliance of two-goal Thierry Henry.
Arsene Wenger’s men managed to hold their nerve and clinched a 2-0 home win over Lokomotiv Moscow to progress on 10 points as group winners, demonstrating the steely character that proved the bedrock of that great Gunners side.
1. Newcastle 2002-03
Bobby Robson’s Newcastle United were flying high in the Premier League but had struggled to mix it with Europe's best, losing their first three group games to Dynamo Kyiv (them again), Feyenoord and Juventus without even scoring.
But the Magpies didn't give up. Against a Juve side including Edgar Davids and Alessandro Del Piero at St James’ Park, one moment was enough for Newcastle to kick-start their campaign.
Andy Griffin rushed onto a quickly taken free-kick and skipped past a challenge, before seeing his cross-cum-shot inadvertently turned home by Gianluigi Buffon. Robson's men managed to pull off victories over Dynamo and Feyenoord, coming from behind in Ukraine before storming through against the latter via Craig Bellamy's last-minute winner.
With that, they became the first side to lose their first three games and qualify for the knockouts.
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