The Champions League’s Historical Comebacks

The Bianconeri will be looking to overturn their two-goal deficit when they take to Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, 12 March. Over the years, there have been a number of teams who have managed to overturn their first leg result.

Here are six historical comebacks:

It was a comeback few could have predicted. After going down 4-2 at Santiago Bernabeu, Monaco fought back hard in the return leg to claim a 3-1 victory and progress to the semi-finals of the competition on away goals through goals from Giuly and Morientes. That would spark an amazing run by the French side as they went on to win the Champions League trophy that season.

First leg: Real Madrid 4-2 Monaco

Second leg: Monaco 3-1 Real Madrid

The game looked set and matched when AC Milan claimed a 4-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna, but little could have prepared them for the shock they received in the second leg. Walter Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valerón, and Alberto Luque scored to put the score at 3-0 – before Fran González added a fourth after coming off of the bench, ending the defending champions’ run in the competition.

First leg: AC Milan 4-1 Deportivo

Second leg: Deportivo 4-0 AC Milan

This comeback had Cristiano Ronaldo’s name written all over it. After going down 2-0 in the first leg courtesy of goals from Rodriguez and Arnold, Los Galacticos took to Santiago Bernabeu with guns blazing. The Portuguese scored a hat-trick in what will undoubtedly go down as one of his best individual displays ever. The victory allowed Real Madrid progress into the semi-finals, before going on to claim their 12th UCL trophy.

First leg: Wolfsburg 2-0 Real Madrid

Second leg: Real Madrid 3-0 Wolfsburg

The Catalans became the first team to come back after falling to a four-goal deficit to win a Champions League tie. In the first leg, PSG demolition of Luis Enrique’s side came as a shock, but less so than the out of this world “rimontada” they pulled off in the second leg, taking a 6-1 win at home with three goals in the final minutes of the encounter (two from Lionel Messi).

First leg: PSG 4-0 Barcelona

Second leg: Barcelona 6-1 PSG

After losing 4-1 at Camp Nou against Barcelona, the Giallorossi’s hopes of overturning the result was cut down to a slither. However, an extraordinary opening goal in the sixth minute by Edin Dzeko and a penalty by Daniele De Rossi sparked hopes of a miraculous revival of fortunes. The scene was set for Kostas Manolas to stand up and score the decisive goal, after having conceded an own goal in the first leg.

First leg: Barcelona 4-1 Roma

Second leg: Roma 3-0 Barcelona

The most recent comeback took place just last night, with Ajax Amsterdam pulling off an emphatic victory over the defending champions Real Madrid. After falling 2-1 in the first leg, the odds were in Los Galacticos' favour for the return leg at Santiago Bernabeu. From the offset the Dutch outfit showed their intentions, and they fought back in emphatic fashion to claim a stunning 4-1 victory over a Ramos-less Real Madrid. Goals from Ziyech, Neres, Tadic and Schone meant that Ajax became the first team to eliminate Real Madrid from the Champions League since Juventus in the 2014/15 campaign.

First leg: Ajax 1-2 Real Madrid

Second leg: Real Madrid 1-4 Ajax

Your exclusive access to the Bianconeri world