Not only do the greatest players of all time perform in the Champions League, but you can frequently find the most exciting games there.
A midweek spotlight has a certain allure, don’t you think? As soon as the national song begins and the starball appears, players like Messi and Ronaldo cease to exist entirely.
10. Manchester City 4-3 Real Madrid, 2022
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In just 11 minutes, City had doubled its lead, but John Stones had to be replaced by Fernandinho before City might have had five. Naturally, Karim Benzema beat Ederson before Vinicius Jr. scored a miracle goal. Before Benzema cheekily scored a panenka to carefully poise this semifinal in anticipation of a Bernabeu rematch, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva both scored goals. Of course the real would win.
9. Monaco 8-3 Deportivo La Coruna, 2003/2004
Dado Prso, a Croatian striker, scored four goals in the competition’s highest-scoring game (up till Dortmund’s 8-4 victory against Legia Warsaw in 2016/17), making him the main beneficiary of this absurdly open contest. Despite finishing above Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga in 2001/02, Deportivo were clearly no pushovers on this day.
Amazingly, the clubs just decided to play a little more carefully at 7-3 after 52 minutes. Monaco continued on to the Gelsenkirchen final, where, ironically, their own defensive shortcomings against Porto cost them.
8. Manchester City 5-3 Monaco, 2016/2017
Despite losing, a wild thriller at the Etihad Stadium heralded the “coming” of Leonardo Jardim’s exciting young team. The first time eight goals were scored in the first leg of a Champions League quarterfinal match occurred during this oddly open game. The Frenchmen quickly took dominating leads of 2-1 and 3-2, but City rallied with goals from Sergio Aguero, John Stones, and Leroy Sané.
The team led by Pep Guardiola believed they had gotten away with it until they lost the return match 3-1 and were eliminated.
7. Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona, 2019
Liverpool is no stranger to thrilling comebacks in Europe, but even for them, erasing a 3-0 deficit from the first leg of this semi-final match would be a big step. At Anfield, a Barcelona team led by Lionel Messi would undoubtedly score, making it necessary for the Reds to score five goals in order to advance.
6. Chelsea 4-2 Barcelona, 2004/2005
the beginning of Jose Mourinho vs. football and Chelsea vs. Barcelona as rivalries. Following a 2-1 loss in the first leg at the Camp Nou, where Didier Drogba was dismissed, Mourinho accused his Barça counterpart Frank Rijkaard of having a brief conversation in the referee’s room during the half. The Swedish player quit football shortly after receiving death threats.
However, Chelsea got off to a strong start in the second leg, going up 3-0 after 20 minutes thanks to goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard, and Damien Duff. After restoring parity 10 minutes later, Ronaldinho created the game’s most memorable moment.
5. Barcelona 0-4 Dynamo Kiev, 1997/1998
“Let’s see how you do in the return,” a friend joked after we defeated Barcelona 3-0 in Kiev, Sheva later recalled with a chuckle. He wagered against my ability to score three goals. In the end, he purchased dinner.
The season after, Kiev reached the semifinals before Shevchenko sped off to Milan.
4. Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool, 2008/2009
3. Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United, 2010/2011
At Wembley, Pedro’s calm finish gave the Catalans the lead, but Wayne Rooney later scored an equalizer. But then Barça kicked into high gear. Lionel Messi charged forward to retake the lead, and David Villa curled in a lovely third from a distance past Edwin van der Sar. Breathtaking.
2. Ajax 2-3 Tottenham, 2019
Although the Premier League team had opportunities in the first half, Lucas Moura’s quick-fire double after the break restored the semi-suspense. final’s Ajax had found some stability and appeared to have weathered the storm, but in the sixth minute of stoppage time, Lucas surprised everyone with an incredible game-winning goal, advancing Spurs on away goals.
1. Monaco 3-1 Real Madrid, 2003/2004
Apparently, if you’re Fernando Morientes, that doesn’t apply. With 45 minutes to go, Monaco was trailing 5-2 overall against a team that included Raul, Ronaldo, and Zinedine Zidane, but Morientes spearheaded an incredible comeback. Prior to his own header giving the French team real hope, he first assisted Ludovic Giuly. Giuly concluded his brace, and Real were done.