'%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)
These have been exciting eight years in football. Two World Cups with shocking results like Netherland's 5:1 win against Spain, Germany's loss to the Korea Republic and, of course, Brazil's ridiculous 7:1 loss to the German side.
We have witnessed surprising league seasons with a minimal budget side FK Rostov beating Zenit for the 2nd place in the Russian Premier League, Leipzig finishing 2nd in their first ever Bundesliga season and the most famous one - Leicester City triumph in the Premier League in 2016.
Champions League has been full of surprises - in the last few seasons Barcelona was involved in two unexpected knock-out stage comebacks - with a 6:1 win against Paris Saint-Germain and a 3:0 loss to Roma. Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid shocked the football world in respectively 2013 and 2014 when they beat Europes richest clubs to reach the Champions League final.
These are the five most stunning moments in football's last eight years:
#5 Robert Lewandowski - 5 goals in 9 minutes (2015)
In September of 2015, champions Bayern Munich faced last seasons second place Wolfsburg away. Bavarian side's main striker Lewandowski started the game off the bench as he recently had ankle problems. He came on after halftime while the score was 1:0 to Wolfsburg.
Lewandowski quickly made an impact, scoring from a close range in the 51st minute. Maybe the Polish striker got lucky with his first goal but his second only one minute later was a true beauty, shooting precisely from outside the box.
Lewandowski didn't stop there, after receiving a great pass from Mario Gotze, he hit the post. Fortunately for the striker, the ball fell right back onto his feet and after a scramble with the goalkeeper and the defenders Lewandovski got it in the net. It took only four minutes for him to score the hat-trick and that is a Bundesliga's record.
In the 57th minute, Lewandowski got on the top of a poorly defended cross, unstoppably shooting the ball past the goalkeeper for the fourth time. Three minutes later he finished his sensational scoring with an acrobatic attempt from just inside the box.
The game finished 5:1. Lewandowski went on to brake 21st century's scoring record in a single Bundesliga season with 30 goals.
#4 Germany's World Cup shocker (2018)
Germany national football team had an impressive triumph in the FIFA World Cup 2014. They were one of the main favourites for this year's tournament as well but what worked once completely failed the second time.
Germany went into the World Cup 2018 without any serious squad problems. As it seemed, that didn't mean a thing as the reigning champions showed a very shallow performance in the first match against Mexico, surprisingly losing 1:0.
The second game against Sweden started as catastrophic as the first for Germany and the defending champions finished the first half down by one. They managed to equalise shortly after the halftime break.
Germany suffered another blow in the 82nd minute when one of the country's best defenders Jerome Boateng got a red card. Even with a man down the Germans didn't sit back and went for the win. They got a last minute chance with a free kick from an uncomfortable angle. Marco Reus took it by making a short pass to Toni Kroos who with an amazing strike beat Sweden's goalkeeper.
Germany couldn't carry the momentum over the next and ultimately the final game. Even though European powerhouse dominated the possession against the Korea Republic, they were unable to break the Asian side's defence. It was a frustrating game for Germany and they fell apart in the dying minutes, conceding two goals and shamefully getting sent home.
#3 Barcelona 6:1 comeback against PSG in the second game (2017)
Paris Saint-Germain has been unlucky in the Champions League. Year after year they have had to face title contenders in quarter-finals and even round of 16. While they have never been blown out, PSG hasn't reached the semi-finals yet.
2016/17 season was no different as for the fourth time in five seasons PSG got drawn against Spanish giants Barcelona. This time in the round of 16.
The French side stunned Barcelona with a 4:0 battering in the first leg at home. It was a heavy blow for the Catalan side that hadn't exited the competition so quickly since the 2007 loss to Liverpool.
The second leg match started with a third-minute goal by Luis Suarez, reviving the intrigue. In the 40th minute Layvin Kurzawa scored an own goal and just after the halftime break Lionel Messi converted a penalty. Barcelona was just one goal behind PSG at the time but the French side didn't sit still and scored in the 62nd minute. That meant they had an away goal and Barcelona needed to score three more to secure a place in the next stage.
It was followed by a goalless period of more than 20 minutes. Neymar finally stopped it shortly before the injury time and got Barca back into the game. Just three minutes later he scored a penalty and in the last moment of the game, the Brazilian made an amazing pass to Sergio Roberto who was precise from just in front of the goal.
While this game will be remembered for years to come, Barcelona's Champions League season ended in the next stage against Juventus.
#2 Leicester City Premier League triumph (2016)
Leicester City got promoted to Premier League in 2014. They had a successful season and finished 14th. Leicester side was predicted to retain their place the next year as well. But not without a fight.
Leicester started the 2015/16 Premier League season with three wins and three draws. After a heavy defeat against Arsenal, the Foxes quickly recovered and were back on the run. Leicester didn't lose for almost three months.
After losing against Liverpool on Christmas, Leicester got three draws in four games. It seemed like the Foxes had finally been stopped and they will start to fall out of the title race. But Leicester lost only one game in the remaining of the season and convincingly won the Premier League.
No matter who they were beating, till their title win was official, there always were doubters. And who can blame them? Rarely anyone could've believed that in a period with all the big money circulating between the top clubs, there will be a relegation battle side that could win in a 38 game marathon.
#1 Germany humiliates Brazil on their own ground (2014)
In World Cup 2014 there were many memorable games - the Netherlands 5:1 win against Spain, Uruguay 3:1 loss against Costa Rica and Germany struggle against Algeria to name a few. But undoubtedly Germany's and Brazil's semi-final match completely trumped them all. One of the most unexpected games in the history of football.
Brazil hosted the World Cup for the first time since 1950 when they shockingly lost to Uruguay. While showing unconvincing football, the hosts still had a successful tournament till the semi-final. Brazil had won the group, beat Chile and Columbia in knock-out stages but after then they had to face their strongest opponent yet - Germany. As the World Cup was going, Europeans had become the favourites for the title, showing beautiful and unstoppable football. Germany's chances seemingly increased when Brazil lost their captain Thiago Silva and leader Neymar for the semi-final match.
The game had an equal start but in the 11th minute, Germany took the lead. They exposed Brazil's problems in defence who left Thomas Muller completely free after a corner. After ten quiet minutes veteran striker Miroslav Klose got his 16th World Cup goal, breaking Ronaldo's record. Germany then struck three goals in a short space of time, making it a humiliating 5:0 lead before halftime.
The second half was expectedly slower but Germany still found a way to score two while Brazil got one consolation goal.
The game broke the record for the biggest margin in a semi-final match and biggest loss by a host nation. It was Brazil's most crushing defeat since 1920.
