'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The UEFA Champions League 2019/20 knockout stage is underway, with all sixteen teams playing their first legs. The round threw some surprising results our way, with both finalists from last year's competition, Liverpool and Tottenham, losing to Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig respectively.
Debutants Atalanta put one foot into the quarterfinals by thrashing Valencia on their home turf. Elsewhere, Dortmund new boy Erling Haaland continued his fine run in this season's tournament, scoring twice as his side beat Paris Saint Germain. Furthermore, Bayern Munich completed a routine win over Chelsea while Olympique Lyon shocked Cristiano Ronaldo and Co by registering a one-nil win.
While certain sides will take an advantage to the return leg three weeks from now, they must be wary of surprises that the competition may throw at them. As has been evident in the past, no result is secure until at least one hundred and eighty minutes are played. Several teams have been able to turn around first-leg deficits to win the tie previously and some did it in a more emphatic fashion than others. We take a look at five such sides who completed stunning turnarounds in this particular round since the turn of the century.
5. Manchester United vs PSG (First Leg: 0-2; Second Leg: 3-1)
When Manchester United sacked Jose Mourinho in December 2018, their season was in disarray. The Red Devils were positioned mid-table in the league and had been knocked out of the EFL Cup. Their progress into the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League was secured, although they were facing a tough tie against Paris Saint Germain with many supporters prematurely throwing in the towel.
Amidst much scepticism, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took the reigns of the first team on an interim basis, with the club deciding to put their faith in the legendary striker despite his poor managerial record. Solskjaer, to his credit, took everyone by surprise and went on to win his first eight matches in charge across all competitions.
The Norwegian's winning streak was broken by none other than PSG, who beat the Red Devils two-nil in the first leg of their round of 16 tie at Old Trafford. Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe had come up with the goals in the second half before the home side had Paul Pogba sent off later in the game, making their return leg objective all the more difficult.
However, what Manchester United did three weeks later at Parc de Princes ended up in history books. Romelu Lukaku scored either side of a Juan Bernat strike to make it two-one to the Red Devils. Marcus Rashford scored United's third of the night deep into second-half stoppage time, when he converted a spot-kick, sending the away supporters into delirium.
Manchester United became the first team in the history of the competition to advance after losing the first leg at home by two goals and Solskjaer was handed the permanent job a month later.
4. Juventus vs Atletico Madrid (First Leg: 0-2; Second Leg: 3-0)
Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid have been a permanent fixture of the UEFA Champions League in the last few years. The Rojiblancos qualified for the premier European competition under Simeone for the first time during the 2013/14 season and have done the same for the six years that followed. Furthermore, the Spanish giants have made it through to the knockout stages in all of those seasons barring one.
Atletico, uncannily, have faced Cristiano Ronaldo at some point during their last five UEFA Champions League runs. The Portuguese attacker has been a particular thorn in Simeone's side, with his team progressing on all five of those occasions at the expensive of the Rojiblancos.
The Madrid side, having been haunted plenty by Ronaldo, were drawn against him in the round of 16 of the 2018/19 season. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had a new team by then, as he had traded the white of Madrid to the black and white of Turin. However, both Ronaldo and Juventus were left shell-shocked when Simeone's men scored twice past them in the first leg, with both goals coming via their centre-backs.
Ronaldo was slated for 'going missing' in the first leg but the Portuguese forward had a stunning response in store. Three weeks following Juventus's defeat, he scored three times to overturn the tie on aggregate. The Bianconeri marched into the quarter-finals at the expense of Atletico Madrid, with Ronaldo once again proving to be their undoing.
3. Ajax vs Real Madrid (First Leg: 1-2; Second Leg: 4-1)
A common argument against the Champions League lately is that the competition is becoming more and more exclusive each passing year. There is some weight behind the theory too, as proven by the current season which saw only teams from the 'top-five' domestic leagues qualify for the knockout stage. AFC Ajax's run to the semi-finals last season, however, proved that there is still room for fairytales, despite the tournament's growing competition and exclusivity.
Ajax started their 2018/19 UCL campaign in the second qualifying round and made it through to the group stage following three two-legged ties. They were handed a tough group alongside Bayern Munich, Benfica, and AEK Athens, but they made it through to the knockouts undefeated.
It was then that the Dutch side was handed their toughest test - a two-legged knockout against the three-time defending champions Real Madrid. To make their lives more difficult, Los Blancos registered a two-one victory away from home in the first-leg, leaving Ajax on the brink. Erik Ten Hag's side, however, had no plans of leaving the competition this early and what they did next sent shockwaves across the footballing world.
Hakim Ziyech and David Neres put the Eredivisie outfit two-nil up within the first twenty minutes of the return leg. With the Bernabeu left shell-shocked, Ajax continued their dominance and eventually sealed the tie in the sixty-second minute via Dusan Tadic. Real Madrid pulled one back late on through Marco Asensio but captain Lasse Schone curled his freekick past Thibaut Courtois to complete a four-one thrashing.
2. Chelsea vs Napoli (First Leg: 1-3; Second Leg: 4-1)
The entire Chelsea fraternity let out a collective groan when Ezequiel Lavezzi's strike smashed the ball past Petr Cech at the Stadio San Paolo. The Blues were down by three goals to one and were facing certain elimination at the hands of their Italian opponents.
It had been a difficult season for manager Andre Villas-Boas, who had arrived at Stamford Bridge from Porto with high expectations. However, a string of inconsistent results, coupled with him alienating the senior players had let him down. Twelve days on from their humiliation at the hands of Napoli, the Portuguese football coach was relieved of his duties by the Blues' hierarchy, with the reigns handed to assistant manager Roberto di Matteo.
Di Matteo started Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, and Didier Drogba in their return leg three weeks later, along with the returning John Terry who had missed the first leg completely. The Blues started positively with Drogba putting the home side one-nil up just before the half-hour mark. Terry added another, minutes into the second half before Gokhan Inler pulled one back for the away side.
With the London outfit still trailing by a goal, Lampard stepped up in the seventy-fifth minute to score a penalty and bring the sides level on aggregate and thus sending the tie into extra-time. Chelsea persisted and with the momentum behind them ultimately found the winning goal in one hundred and fifth minute when Branislav Ivanovic smashed home a pull-back from Drogba. The Blues held on for the final fifteen minutes to seal their passage into the next round.
1. Barcelona vs PSG (First Leg: 0-4; Second Leg: 6-1)
Luis Enrique's Barcelona was a dangerous side. The Spanish giants had one of the deadliest attacking tridents in the world, with Lionel Messi and Neymar playing either side of Luis Suarez. Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets helped maintain the club's unique identity in midfield while the likes of Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, and Javier Mascherano brought steel to the side.
Given their strength and balance, the football fraternity was left in shock when Paris Saint-Germain thrashed them by four goals to nil in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League round of 16, first leg. To advance to the next round, Barcelona had to score at least five more goals than their opponents, thereby completing the biggest turnaround in the history of the competition. And they did exactly that.
A Luis Suarez striker and a Layvin Kurzawa own goal gave the Blaugrana a two-nil lead going into the break. Lionel Messi scored in the fiftieth minute to bring his side within one goal, however, Edinson Cavani struck just after the hour mark, leaving Barcelona in need of three goals. Neymar scored two of those three in the eighty-eighth and the ninety-first minute before Sergi Roberto's outstretched leg made it six-one to the Spanish giants in the final seconds of the game.
La Remontada, as it was called later, went on to become one of the most remarkable matches ever to be played in the Champions League. Barcelona's comeback, being the biggest since the competition's inception, registered itself in the history books, adding to the legacy of an already successful football club.
