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The 2018-19 edition of the Champions League was all about the comeback. Stirring results like Manchester United’s Round of 16 defeat of Paris St. Germain and Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur’s semi-final comebacks against Barcelona and Ajax respectively were amongst the most mind-boggling events in Champions League history.
The 2019-20 Champions League hasn’t seen quite so many wild comebacks as its predecessor, but there have certainly been some dramatic matches, with results that were at some point in the game seemingly unthinkable.
Here are the 5 best comebacks from the 2019-20 Champions League – so far.
#1 Liverpool 2-3 Atletico Madrid – Champions League Round of 16 – March 11th, 2020
One of the best comebacks in the 2019-20 Champions League came in the competition’s final match before COVID-19 forced its suspension in March.
Atletico Madrid were no strangers to a Champions League comeback, having come from 0-2 down to draw with Juventus 2-2 in the group stage. But this dramatic result against holders Liverpool was even better.
Diego Simeone’s side defeated the Reds 1-0 in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano. But many fans felt that a Liverpool win at Anfield to turn the deficit around would be academic. And sure enough, when Georginio Wijnaldum put the holders 1-0 up on the brink of half-time, it seemed like another Liverpool Champions League comeback was on.
Somehow though – largely due to the heroics of goalkeeper Jan Oblak – Jurgen Klopp’s side were unable to find the killer goal. When an apparent equaliser from Atletico was chalked off for a clear offside, the tie tipped over into extra time.
Just four minutes into the added period, it seemed like business as usual. A cross from Wijnaldum was met by Roberto Firmino. And when his header hit the post, the Brazilian quickly prodded the rebound in and appeared to have sent Liverpool to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Somehow though, just two minutes later, an Atletico comeback was on. A poor kick from Liverpool keeper Adrian went straight to Marcos Llorente, who fired home from distance. Suddenly, with the away goals rule against them, it was Liverpool who needed to turn things around.
Incredibly, it simply wasn’t to be. An attack from the Reds failed, leading directly to a break from Atletico that saw Llorente score again. From there, the tie looked beyond Liverpool. And Atletico even had time to complete their comeback on the night by adding a winner through former Chelsea man Alvaro Morata.
From the brink of victory, the Champions League holders had been dumped out of the tournament by one of the best comebacks in some time from Simeone’s men. All this despite having 71% possession and taking 34 shots on goal.
#2 RB Leipzig 2-2 Benfica – Champions League Group Stage – November 27th, 2019
One of the most dramatic comebacks of the Champions League group stage came in Group G. German side RB Leipzig overturned a two-goal deficit to claim a draw, qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time.
Leipzig knew they only needed a point to make the Round of 16. But early in the match, it wasn’t looking good. Benfica – who needed to win to give themselves a chance of escaping the group – took the lead in the 20th minute when Pizzi slotted home from close range.
Leipzig poured on the pressure to hunt for an equaliser, but luck didn’t seem to be on their side. A blatant foul in the box on Christopher Nkunku went ignored by the referee, denying Julian Nagelsmann’s side a first-half penalty.
And things went from bad to worse early in the second half, when Lukas Klostermann’s slip allowed Carlos Vinicius a clear run on goal. The Brazilian made no error by easily firing past keeper Peter Gulacsi – who was later substituted due to an injury.
But Leipzig never gave up hope despite the odds and continued to dominate the match. By the 90th minute, they’d had over 20 shots on goal. They were dramatically handed a lifeline when Ruben Dias’ tug on Patrick Schick gave them a penalty.
Emil Forsberg scored from the spot, but it felt like little more than a consolation. That was until five minutes into added time when one final attack led to a cross from Timo Werner. The cross found its way to Forsberg, who headed in to send Nagelsmann’s side into the knockout stages of the Champions League in the most stunning way possible.
#3 Dinamo Zagreb 3-3 Shakhtar Donetsk – Champions League Group Stage – November 6th, 2019
Arguably the wildest game of the 2019-20 Champions League came in November between Group C’s two most unheralded sides. With both teams on four points, Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk both had a shot at making the Champions League's knockout stages when they met in the Stadion Maksimir in November.
The game didn’t garner much hype going in. But the fans in attendance were treated to a lot of drama and a truly stunning comeback from the away team.
The two sides had drawn 2-2 in Donetsk, and it was the Ukrainian team who struck first here. After just 13 minutes, Alan Patrick poked the ball home from close range following a slick attacking move. Dinamo drew level just 12 minutes later, with Bruno Petkovic bundling a header in following some defensive miscommunication.
Both sides then had a man sent off, with Nikola Moro seeing red for the hosts before Marlos was dismissed for Shakhtar, evening things up. With 83 minutes gone, the game was still tied at 1-1, when things went completely crazy.
Dinamo made a breakthrough, with 20-year old Luka Ivanusec scoring to send his whole squad – including their coaches and backroom staff – into rapture. And when Arijan Ademi converted Dani Olmo’s cross in the 89th minute, it looked like the Croatian side’s victory was complete.
Incredibly though, that wasn’t the case. Shakhtar threw men forward and in the third minute of added time, striker Moraes rose highest to head home a cross. After grappling the ball away from keeper Dominik Livakovic, the Ukrainian side somehow found the time to launch another attack.
This time, midfielder Taison burst into the box and went down under a challenge. It looked soft, but the referee decided to award a penalty. VAR was called in to check the decision. And upon a review, the replay showed that in fact, Dinamo defender Kevin Theophile-Catherine had actually fouled Shakhtar keeper Andriy Pyatov, who’d come up to join the attack!
The spot-kick was duly given. And with seconds remaining on the clock, Tete converted the penalty to hand Shakhtar a point – as well as one of the most incredible comebacks of the 2019-20 Champions League.
#4 Chelsea 4-4 Ajax – Champions League Group Stage – November 5th, 2019
As one of the Champions League’s youngest sides, questions were always going to be asked about how Frank Lampard’s Chelsea would respond to adversity. Those questions were answered in November at Stamford Bridge. The Blues provided one of the most stunning comebacks of the season against 2018-19 Champions League semi-finalists Ajax.
The Dutch side – who’d been a victim of an all-time great Champions League comeback by Tottenham in 2018-19 – took the lead after just two minutes. A free-kick from Quincy Promes was sent into the box. It flicked off Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and into the net.
Just minutes later, the Blues were level. Christian Pulisic was tripped as he ran into the box, and midfielder Jorginho comfortably dispatched the spot-kick to make the game 1-1. Both sides then continued to attack – with a goal from Abraham being chalked off for an offside – before a header from Promes edged Ajax ahead.
The Dutch side then added a third goal before half-time, when a curling free-kick from Hakim Ziyech somehow ended up heading into the top corner. The strike was eventually declared an own goal from Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
When Ajax scored again in the second half, this time from Donny van de Beek, the game looked well beyond the Blues. It brought into question their Champions League credentials.
But Lampard’s side never gave up. And on 63 minutes, captain Cesar Azpilicueta poked the ball in from the closest possible range to give them hope.
It was actually a meltdown of sorts from Ajax that allowed the Blues to begin their comeback. A crude challenge from Daley Blind on Abraham was allowed to go unpunished in order for Chelsea to continue playing. And the sequence ended with Joel Veltman handling a shot from Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The referee decided to hand both Blind and Veltman their second yellow cards, reducing Ajax to nine men. And when Jorginho converted his second spot-kick of the game, an unlikely Champions League comeback was well and truly on.
Just four minutes later, the Blues indeed had their equaliser. A header from Kurt Zouma struck the bar. But the ball fell to 19-year old substitute Reece James, who fired home to send Stamford Bridge wild.
Unbelievably, the Blues were then robbed of a winner, when VAR decided to chalk off an apparently fair goal from Azpilicueta, thanks to an inadvertent handball from Abraham.
The game – which basically had everything – eventually ended 4-4. It provided the fans with a ridiculous amount of entertainment. Additionally, by coming back from 1-4 down, Lampard's youngsters showed their spirit and nerve going forward in the Champions League.
#5 Real Madrid 2-2 Paris St. Germain – Champions League Group Stage – November 26th, 2019
Fireworks were always likely when two of Europe’s true giants – Real Madrid and Paris St. Germain – were drawn together in the Champions League’s group stage. And after PSG had whitewashed Los Blancos at the Parc des Princes in September, the return game at the Bernabeu featured one of the competition’s best comebacks.
With both sides already assured of a spot in the Round of 16, it was Real who struck first on this occasion. A shot from Isco rebounded off the post, and Karim Benzema was on hand to slot the rebound into the empty net after 17 minutes.
From there, the Spanish giants went on to dominate the game. And when Benzema headed home Marcelo’s cross on 79 minutes, it looked like Zinedine Zidane’s side had gained some measure of revenge over the French side.
Incredibly though, just two minutes later PSG were handed a lifeline. A horrible mix-up from keeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Raphael Varane allowed Kylian Mbappe to sneak in and prod the ball home from close range.
And with 83 minutes gone, Thomas Tuchel’s team were level. This time a shot from Julian Draxler was blocked by Sergio Ramos. But the ball found its way to substitute Pablo Sarabia, who smashed it high into the net.
It was a stirring comeback from the French side, who are often criticised for being apparent flat-track bullies in the Champions League. This result in the Bernabeu went a long way to proving that theory completely incorrect.
