5 best UEFA Champions League Round of 16 comebacks of the 21st century

Chelsea vs Napoli
Chelsea vs Napoli

4. Juventus vs Atletico Madrid (First Leg: 0-2; Second Leg: 3-0)

Juventus v Club de Atletico Madrid - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Second Leg
Juventus v Club de Atletico Madrid - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Second Leg

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.

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Edited by Sai Teja