What are the best football comebacks you have ever watched if I ask you, what would you reply? Liverpool’s 3-3 vs. AC Milan in Istambul or Roma’s 4-4 against Barca or Liverpool’s 4-3 against Barca? There are multiple other historical fightback stories that you might be unknown about, and we PROMISE we’ll take you through every top bounce-back memoir that will THRILL YOU.
Football is an amazing game full of tears, joy, horrors, happiness, and excitement. One minute you are crying, and BOOM, your favorite team bang a goal, and out of nowhere, a small ray of HOPE comes into the inner self. Sometimes, it works out, sometimes that HOPE is just LOST between the tears that roll through your eyes. You enjoy, cry, and celebrate along with the players that are giving their all on the field, and you are supporting them from miles far from them.
But, in these hundred years of soccer history, several events have happened that standouts. Say it Maradona’s hand goal against England that won them the most prestigious award World Cup or Real Madrid fans applause to their rival Ronaldinho or Greece’s underdog moment against Portugal, or Zidane’s headbutt. There are uncountable chronicles that have happened and won’t be repeating for another hundred years. And there are negative parts too, like, a huge corruption in football.
But, in this article, we’ll take you through the top 3 best of the best tale about victories from behind that have ever happened.
5. Corner Taken Quickly: Liverpool 4-3 Barcelona (UEFA Champions League Semifinal, 2019)
And for Liverpool, they were not simply a great team to face in the Champions League as they showed their spirit in Istanbul.
Probably, the 6-1 result against PSG is only the positive result Barca had in recent history. Since then, it has only been the downfall for them. That year, they lost 3-0 against Juventus. After that season, every year, they have been embarrassed by the opponent, including 2 comebacks and 8-2 humiliation against Bayern, that too in just one game. God knows what would have been the final result if Barca had played both leagues against the in-form German giants.
But, what they would never forget is the match against Liverpool or simply the phrase, CORNER TAKEN QUICKLY. The night at Anfield was EPIC as Liverpool fans shook the stadium with their chants making them Liverpool’s 12th man. And they did in front of their hero, Steven Gerrard that did the same against AC Milan 14 years ago. He must have felt PROUD.
How did Liverpool do it?
Liverpool started their match with a 3 goal disadvantage after losing Camp Nou. And even more, they were starting without their 2 frontiers, Salah and Firmino, who Shaqiri and Origi replaced. But Origi had a different thing in his mind and gave them an early lead in the 7th minute utilizing the deflection from Ter Stegen.
They were already up by one, and in the 54th and 56th minute, Wijnaldum scored two goals in 2 minutes. The first was a stunning kick from outside of the box, and the second one with a great header. The whole Anfield was exploding, and even we could see the sense of humiliation in Messi’s eyes.
And finally comes the most memorable moment that will be hunting Barca forever. In the 78th minute, Alexander Arnold did a cheeky corner kick to find the Divock Origi, and Origi made a clinical finish to give them the lead.
Even Liverpool’s manager Klopp couldn’t believe the final result and said,
“The whole game was too much, Winning is difficult but with a clean sheet, I don’t know how they did it.”
And just like that, Liverpool made history in front of thousands of fans. Overcoming the 3 goal deficit and outscoring an opponent, NOBODY DOES IT BETTER than Liverpool.
4. The brilliance of Eusebio: Portugal 5-3 North Korea (World Cup Quarter Finals, 1966)
We have all heard about Portugal’s brilliant player, Eusebio but barely saw him playing in real-time. But if anybody asked about one of his best matches, then this match of Portugal’s game against North Korea in the 1966 World Cup is one to go with. This is also one of the greatest World Cup revival stories.
The year was 1966 and Portugal faced the best South Asian Country in the world, North Korea who just beat Italy by 1-0 in the group stage match. And the Portuguese were also nothing less after they have beaten Brazil on the group stage.
The North Korean started their game strong and not only 1 minute has passed, their midfielder Pak Seung-zin scored an incredible goal in the left top corner. In the 22nd minute and 25th minute, they tripled their lead from the goal of Li Dong-Woon and Yang Seung Kook. In just 25 minutes, North Koreans were already leading the game and nothing seems to be going well to the Portuguese side.
So, what happened at Goodison Park?
The only thing that happened to the Koreans was Eusebio. After 2 minutes of their third goal, Eusebio scored from inside the box leaving their 2 defenders and keepers altogether on the ground. But that was not enough for them as they had t score 3 more goals to win the game and the Asian team was looking solid.
But in the 43rd minute, they won the penalty and Eusebio took it. Undoubtedly, he scored, leaving the Korean goalkeeper behind. The first half finished by 3-2.
In the 10th minute of the second half, he scored another goal from the right side to level the score. Eusebio has singlehandedly turned the game from 3-0 down. But he was not stopping there.
After 4 minutes of his third goal, he made an incredible solo run with the ball beating the Koreans multiple times before reaching the box. And the frustrated NK defender has no choice but to go straight hit him in the leg. Eusebio took it and didn’t miss too. To make it worse for the Koreans, Jose Augusto, who was unmarked scored a header in the 80th minute.
And Portugal, or Eusebio to be precise turned the game from 3 goal deficit to win by 5-3 and advance to the Semifinals.
In this way, Portugal wrote history, Eusebio wrote history, to give one of the best football comebacks for the fans.
3. The Istanbul Miracle: Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan (UEFA Champions League Final, 2005)
One of the biggest responses to the loss in champions league history was between Liverpool and AC Milan. From lagging by 3 goals in the first half and leveling the score in 5 minutes in the FINAL of the Champions League. Everything is legendary about it.
How did Liverpool create history in Instanbul?
Liverpool started the match, but AC Milan was going ALL OUT for the match since the first minute. The legendary squad with Cafu, Nesta and Maldini in the back and Pirlo, Gattuso in the middle, the Italian giants were UNSTOPPABLE. And Kaka and Shevchenko in the front with the legendary coach Carlo Ancelloti made the team look INVINCIBLE.
Not even a minute was gone, Milan got their first goal of the match with the superb volley by Maldini. In the 39th and 44th minute, Milan’s striker Crespo make their lead by 3 goals. Liverpool was being outclassed by Ancelotti’s Milan and did not see any turning back from the goal.
Just when the game was seemingly over, Liverpool’s captain Steven Gerrard made it 1 goal for them from an open heading near the box. More legendary was his celebrations, asking fans for more noise. Again in the 56th minute, Smicer struck from outside of the box that passed Dido to touch the net. What a SCREAMER that was, and Even commentator said,
“2 goals in 2 minutes. Here it goes, Unbelievable.”
Indeed, there was a distinct hype between the fans. Out of nowhere, Gattuso fouled Gerrard, and the referee gave the penalty to the Reds. Alonso failed to get past Dido, but he scored the rebound to make the score even. The team that was 3 goals down miraculously made its level in just 5 minutes.
The match ended with Liverpool winning the match in the penalty. Truly, as the commentator said, “Mission Impossible is Accomplishedl” for Liverpool.
2. La Remontada: Barcelona 6-1 PSG (UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2017)
Probably one of the recent football memories that still hunts PSG and Blaugrana fans are proud of. Though the match was full of controversies, a final result matters, and Barca did an amazing job returning from the game they lost in the first league by 4-0.
Everything is iconic about the match, from the final result to Messi’s celebration with the fans. It was the first time in the history of the Champions League that any team overcame the final result after losing by 4 goals in the first league. Moreover, Barca was 5-3 down in the 88th minute, scored 3 goals in the final 7 minutes, and sealed the victory.
How does Barcelona do it?
The Catalan team showed their great mentality from the begining and Suarez’s header goal in the 3rd minute boosted it fully. And bad luck for PSG, as they suffered from an own goal by Layvin Kurzawa in the 40th minute.
Not even 5 minutes had passed in the second half; Messi scored a penalty to go past PSG’s keeper Trapp. Now Barca had to score just 1 goal to equal and another to outscore their opponent.
But something twist was in the narrative of the match. Just when Barca thought they nearly did their job, Edinson Cavani scored a volley from inside the box. That meant that PSG got their indispensable away goal, and Cules had to score 3 goals to qualify for the next round, and 87 minutes had already passed.
Nevertheless, the 2014-15 UCL winner would not lose Hope and the match so easily. Neymar gave an amazing performance for the team. He scored a magnificent CURLER freekick and did not miss a penalty in the 91st minute.
In the final minute of the match, Neymar provided a cheap to Roberto, and he scored a goal from the near post that let the whole Camp Nou explode. All the Barca players did an amazing job, but the man of the moment was Sergio Roberto. As the commentator said,
“Sergio Roberto, The Substitute is the hero of the hour. And It is the greatest champions league knockout comeback of all time.”
The match was full of controversy as some of the referee’s decisions were questionable. But these things rarely mattered as Barca made history and came out on top to go to the next stage while PSG suffered a loss even after starting with a 4 goal lead.
Honorable mentions
Here are some of the lists of matches that are worth mentioning in the list.
- Bayern Munich 6-5 Bochum (Bundesliga, 1976/77)
- Charlton Athletic 7-6 Huddersfield Town, (Football League Second Division, 1957)
- Roma 4-3 Barcelona (UEFA Champions League, Quarter-Finals, 2018 )
- Sweden 4-4 Germany (2014 World Cup Qualifier, 2012)
- Portugal 5-5 Cameron (U17 World Cup, 2003)
- Angola 4-4 Mali (Africa Cup of Nations, 2010)
- Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal (Premier League, 2011)
1. The 12 goal thriller: Arsenal 7-5 Reading (Football League Cup,
2012-13)
Do you remember the last time Arsenal made an appearance in UEFA Champions League? Well, it was in the 2016-17 season and that too that were thrashed by Bayern Munich by 10-2 in an aggregate. This stat is No Joke for a top club like Arsenal. Today, barely any team fears Arsenal as they do to Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
But the 13 times PL winner was not like that before. They are a team with a great history and memorable matches. One of the match-all Arsenal fans should be proud of their match is against reading in the 2012-13 Football League Cup.
In an epic battle of 12 goals between Reading and Arsenal, we saw the highest goal ever in the League Cup history.
Reading took the lead in the 12th minute by the goal of Roberts inside the box after dodging Koscienly. And 6 minutes later, Arsenal’s number 6 of 2012, scored an own goal. Then Leigertwood, with a good left kick and Hunt with a header scored in 20 and minute and 37 minutes respectively. Arsenal was already down by 4-0 in the first 40 minutes.
Finally, in 47 minutes, Walcott scored a goal to beat Reading’s keeper Ada Federici. But that was just simply not enough. And to their rescue, Giroud scored the second goal to make them halfway to the comeback. Then in the 89th minute, Koscienly made a header to pass Reading’s keeper.
And in the last minute of the final whistle, 96th minute, Walcott scored a goal to give themselves relief. And finally, they were level with Readings which seemed impossible 40 minutes ago. As the commentator said,
“Absolute drama at the Majesky Stadium. “
The 90-minute result was 4-4 and the match was set to an extra minute. In the 103 minutes, Chamakh scored from outside of the box to give them their first lead of the match. But Reading was not the team that would just give up even after bottling the 4 goal lead. And they made 5-5.
Finally, in the 120 + 1 minute, Walcott scored from the box and completed the hattrick. And Chamakh finished the match, making it 7-5 goal. Arsenal ended the match and advance to the final and wrote arguably the best comeback story in football history.
Final Thoughts…
So, this is our list of the greatest comebacks in the history of soccer. Which is your favorite one? Barca did an unthinkable job to outscore the strong-looking PSG while the same team faced humiliation in the next match. AC Milan, even with their greatest team ever, lost the 3-0 lead within a few minutes. The above article may contain Liverpool’s best moments, but the other day, they were the ones crying multiple times.
It is Football, Unpredictable, Swings the emotions like a tide, and takes us to its ride of fear, joy, nostalgia, and satisfaction. That’s why we love football.
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