Ranked! The 20 greatest European comebacks EVER

(Image credit: Future)

What's the greatest comeback in the history of European football?

With so many to choose from across the Cup Winners' Cup, Champions League, European Cup, Europa League and UEFA Cup, FFT ranks the best Lazarus acts recorded on the continent

Oh, Fernando Morientes helped. Monaco reached the Champions League final with their loanee top-scoring and haunting Real Madrid personally. His late Bernabeu effort seemed a consolation at 4-2 (David Beckham, carelessly banned for the second leg, said Real had “one foot in the semis”), especially when it became 5-2 at Stade Louis II after a sumptuous move involving Messrs Zidane, Ronaldo, Guti and Raul.

Hindsight has consecrated Roy Keane’s performance: notwithstanding his incessant barking and excellent header at 2-0 down, he was outmanoeuvred in midfield, and one poor touch led to a late tackle and booking that meant he’d have to sit out the final against Bayern Munich. Yet Alex Ferguson didn’t need to ‘have a word with him’ that night in Turin – the Irishman’s winning aura inspired the Red Devils to a historic maiden victory on Italian soil.

But Walter Pandiani felt inspired. The future Birmingham man later said, “I didn’t want to say anything, because people will say, ‘You’re crazy’, but I thought, ‘If the Mister brings me on, I’ll score three’.” Crazy? Crazy like a fox. After “the most intense warming-up minutes of my life”, the half-time arrival hit a hat-trick that, supplemented by Diego Tristan’s strike, secured an incredible 4-3 win.

The perfect comeback needs an early goal, to rouse supporters and worry the opposition. Dzeko obliged after six minutes. “Now then!” cried Peter Drury, born to commentate on this game (his introduction had called upon “every Roman deity from Jupiter down”). After half-time, the Giallorossi exploited panic – Lionel Messi, Suarez and Gerard Pique were all booked, latterly for conceding a penalty. Daniele De Rossi’s 58th-minute conversion turned Drury hoarse.

Kostas Manolas headed the deciding goal, meaning he, like De Rossi, had scored for Barça in the first leg and Roma in the second. Drury exploded. “ROMA HAVE RISEN FROM THEIR RUINS! MANOLAS, THE GREEK GOD IN ROME!” The triumph was enough to make owner James Pallotta celebrate in Piazza del Popolo’s fountain. With fountains being kind of a big deal around Rome, the American was fined €450, then donated a further €230,000 to repair another one.

Benfica had graced five of the past eight European Cup finals. Ajax would grace four of the next five. How fitting, then, that this changing of the guard would be represented in microcosm by a power shift within one tie. Benfica won 3-1 in deep Dutch snow, despite midfielder Toni having not seen snow before – but Ajax led 3-0 at half-time in a stunned Estadio da Luz. Benfica forced a play-off in Paris, where 40,000 Amsterdammers saw their side win 3-0 via Danielsson and Cruyff, who shared all seven Ajax goals over the tie.

Yet even when a 5-1 loss in Germany left Real with a lot to do and without the banned Hugo Sanchez to do it, Los Blancos remained bullish. Juanito combined ambition on the ball with savagery off it, and set up a couple of goals. When he was substituted late on at the Bernabeu, he literally jumped for joy. Real Madrid won back-to-back UEFA Cups and the first of five consecutive La Liga titles. Don’t you just love a happy ending?

Given the lateness, the chasers’ tiredness, and how comprehensively Spurs had been outplayed, few fightbacks surprised more. Tottenham’s quarter-final triumph over Manchester City had been unexpected. This was unfathomable. Ajax had announced Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek to the world, while making stars out of Hakim Ziyech and Dusan Tadic. They’d ousted Real Madrid and Juventus, won 4-1 at the Bernabeu and hit 165 goals that season, adding No.166 and No.167 here. Spurs were dazed, out of form and without Harry Kane.

Liverpool trailed 3-0 and carried sufficient injuries for Jurgen Klopp to say pre-match, “We start with 11 players and that’s good.” Still, who needs Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino when you’ve got Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri? Origi opened the scoring, Alisson’s heroics and Georginio Wijnaldum’s quickfire brace levelled the tie on aggregate, before Klopp’s men closed it with a moment of majesty. Spotting that Barça were being typically slow at setting up for a defensive set-piece, Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped in an unreasonably good cross, practically on the turn, and Origi did the rest.

The Catalans’ reaction to a 4-2 first-leg win in France was lifted directly from The Book of Hubris. Midfielder Bernd Schuster offered the Metz players some local ham “to thank them for our presents”; Barça’s vice-president even invited them to watch the following round as guests. They were genuinely surprised that Metz, who’d lost their opening Ligue 1 away games 4-1 and 7-0, even sent a scout ahead of the return leg.

Pisstake turned to mistake. In a half-empty Camp Nou, Barça extended their advantage and continued to attack, just as a fly attacks a spider’s web. Metz countered dangerously through the pacy Tony Kurbos, delighting the two travelling journalists (French TV didn’t even bother televising it). With five minutes left, the hosts were clinging onto away goals. After Kurbos completed his hat-trick, having also forced an own goal, shot-stopper Michel Ettorre bellowed at Schuster, “Where’s your ham now?!” Accompanying the egg on his face and chip on Ettorre’s shoulder, probably.

Anfield needs a statue of Steve Finnan’s groin. His injury necessitated a half-time change in Istanbul where, as you may know, Liverpool trailed Milan 3-0. They’d dug deep to find three second-half goals against Olympiakos when required, doubling their group-stage tally, but this was the final – a recovery was impossible. Except it wasn’t, as substitute Didi Hamann was now plugging the gaps left by Steven Gerrard whenever he felt bored.

Liverpool’s 4-4-1-1 hadn’t worked against Milan’s midfield diamond. They’d conceded in the first minute, ignoring Andy Townsend’s exhortation to “be alive in these early stages, Clive” by letting Paolo Maldini score. Hernan Crespo added two, one assisted gloriously by Kaka, while Milan also had a goal disallowed and spurned a two-on-two. Rafael Benitez’s switch to 3-4-2-1 protected the defence and freed up Gerrard, who steered home a fine header and then won the equalising penalty.

For PSG, four minutes’ stoppage time feels like four hours. Gerard ‘Targetman’ Pique can’t quite direct a flick-on. Three minutes remain. A Barcelona hoof goes straight out of play. Two minutes. Ter Stegen attacks a free-kick; it’s cleared and Marco Verratti steals the ball on halfway, but with Barça’s goal gaping, the keeper scrambles back. Thirty seconds. PSG repel another free-kick.

“There’ll be a lot of love made tonight,” exclaimed Pique afterwards (lucky Shakira, eh). La petite mort followed. The epilogue to La Remontada – ‘The Comeback’ merits its definite article – saw Neymar sign for PSG, to no one’s on-pitch benefit. Four years later, Barcelona, destitute, lost Messi to France’s not-so-nouveau riche, who still haven’t won a Champions League title. There have been accusations, recriminations, court cases and too few trophies.

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Huw was on the FourFourTwo staff from 2009 to 2015, ultimately as the magazine's Managing Editor, before becoming a freelancer and moving to Wales. As a writer, editor and tragic statto, he still contributes regularly to FFT in print and online, though as a match-going #WalesAway fan, he left a small chunk of his brain on one of many bus journeys across France in 2016.

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Ranked! The 20 greatest European comebacks EVER

20. Barcelona 5-1 Chelsea AET (6-4 agg)

19. Partizan 4-0 QPR (6-6 agg)

18. Red Bull Salzberg 4-1 Lazio (6-5 agg)

17. Werder Bremen 5-3 Anderlecht

16. Monaco 3-1 Real Madrid (5-5 agg)

15. Juventus 2-3 Manchester United (3-4 agg)

14. Leverkusen 3-0 Espanyol (3-3 agg, 3-2 pens)

13. Deportivo 4-3 PSG

12. Roma 3-0 Barcelona (4-4 agg)

11. Bayer Uerdingen 7-3 Dynamo Dresen (7-5 agg)

10. Benfica 1-3 Ajax (4-4 agg)

9. Deportivo 4-0 AC Milan (4-3 agg)

8. Real Madrid 4-0 Borussia Monchengladbach (5-5 agg)

7. Middlesbrough 4-2 Steaua (4-3 agg)

6. Fulham 4-1 Juventus (5-4 agg)

5. Ajax 2-3 Tottenham (3-3 agg)

4. Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (4-3 agg)

3. Barcelona 1-4 Metz (6-5 agg)

2. AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (2-3 pens)

1. Barcelona 6-1 PSG (6-5 agg)