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UEFA
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GREAT MATCHES |
The Top 10 UEFA Champions League games |
10. |
Deportivo La Coruna 4-3 Paris Saint-Germain
(2000/01 group stage)
Leroy, the last-minute replacement for the
injured Nicolas Anelka, scored twice for PSG as, following
Jay-Jay Okocha's fortunate opener, they established a 3-0
lead, Deportivo's normally raucous Riazor stadium stunned
to silence. Birmingham fans will wonder how Walter Pandiani
could hold sway over European classics, but the substitute’s
hat-trick of headers, along with a Diego Tristán goal,
lead the most unbelievable of comebacks in the final half-hour.
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9. |
AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona
(1993/94
final)
The great Barcelona
side of Ronald Koeman, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario was expected
to swat aside Fabio Capello’s Milan shorn of their hugely
influential but suspended captain, Franco Baresi. Daniele
Massaro scored twice in the first half as Milan dominated
against their highly fancied opponents. Having set up Massaro’s
second, Dejan Savicevic deservedly capped a superb performance
with the third, lobbing Andoni Zubizarreta. Marcel Desailly,
in scoring the fourth, put his mark on a victory that made
him the first player to win consecutive European Cups with
different clubs.
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8. |
Manchester United 4-3 Real Madrid
(2002/03
quarter-final second leg)
The phenomenon that was Ronaldo
at his peak was given a standing ovation by the Old Trafford
crowd after his hat-trick rendered United’s brave effort
pointless. Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Steve McManaman
all excelled in midfield for the Spanish side, prising open
a United defence where the last line of defence was an unsure
Fabien Barthez. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored his 14th Champions
League goal of the season against his future club before David
Beckham did the same, twice – but it was all just rearranging
deck chairs on the Titanic after Ronaldo’s display of
power, pace and lethal finishing.
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7. |
Dynamo Kiev 3-3 Bayern Munich
(1998/99
semi-final first leg)
Andriy
Shevchenko and Kakha Kaladze put the Ukrainian side in the
box seat with first-half goals only for Michael Tarnat to
give the Germans a lifeline just before half-time with an
extraordinary free-kick from 35 yards. Vitaliy Kosovksyi made
it 3-1 on the restart before Steffan Effenberg fired home
a trademark free-kick. The match was approaching its denouement
when Carsten Jancker popped up inside the area to stun the
majority of the 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. Bayern
were, of course, to be on the wrong end of such a comeback
in the final against Manchester United.
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6. |
Valencia 5-2 Lazio
(1999/2000 quarter-final first leg)
A
hat-trick from Gerard López was the difference between
these two sides after a pulsating match that saw the conventional
first leg strategy of keeping it tight dispensed with at the
Mestalla. Gerard’s first in the fourth minute came two
minutes after his team-mate Miguel Ángel Angulo had
opened the scoring. Simone Inzaghi halved the deficit before
Gerard scored twice, either side of half-time. Marcelo Salas
gave hope to the Italians before Claudio Lopez’s injury-time
strike demoted the return leg to dead rubber status
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5. |
Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool
(2008/09 quarter-final second leg)
Few
expected thrills and spills when these two were pitted against
each other for the fifth season in succession, which made
the ludicrous 180 minutes that followed all the more joyous
for the neutral, particularly the second instalment. Petr
Cech forgot how to keep goal but Didier Drogba returned to
his unplayable best. Each side’s Brazilian demonstrated
nous from free-kicks in very different ways, Fernando Torres
retreated, while Frank Lampard eventually excelled in a match
that ebbed and flowed so much as to make even the armchair
fan nauseous.
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4. |
Chelsea 4-2 Barcelona
(2004/05 last-16 second leg)
Eidur
Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Damien Duff proved within 20
minutes that Jose Mourinho could adopt a devil-may-care attitude
when the mood struck, but by half-time Ronaldinho, still in
his pomp and certainly in the mood, struck – once from
the penalty spot and then with the most glorious of 20-yard
belters, preceded by an arrogant shuffle and no discernable
backlift. Petr Cech saved brilliantly from future team-mate
Juliano Belletti, Andres Iniesta and Carlos Puyol before John
Terry won the game with a trademark header.
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3. |
Deportivo 4-0 Milan
(2003/04 quarter-final second leg)
Never
have Milan been made to look as feeble in defence as they
were in the first 43 minutes of this match. Goals from Walter
Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valeron and Albert Luque brought Deportivo
level after they had lost the first leg 4-1 at San Siro. There
was an inevitability to Gonzalez Fran’s second-half
clincher as the Rossaneri’s defence was swept away in
a blue and white cyclone.
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2. |
Juventus 2-3 Manchester United
(1998/99 semi-final second leg)
This
match brings two words to mind: “Roy Keane” –
his performance and the residual effect it had on his team-mates
was astounding, but what shouldn’t be forgotten is,
having drawn level after Filippo Inzaghi’s early brace
via their talismanic captain and Dwight Yorke, Alex Ferguson’s
side were ahead on away goals, but they kept attacking and
Andy Cole’s late tap-in was a deserved winner.
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1. |
Liverpool 3-3 Milan - Liverpool win 3-2 on pens
(2004/05 final)
Behind 3-0 at half-time
to goals from Paolo Maldini and a brace from Hernan Crespo,
a breathless six-minute spell and goals from Steven Gerrard,
Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso brought Liverpool level. Goalkeeper
Jerzy Dudek excelled, not only in the shootout, but also with
a stunning double save from Andriy Shevchenko at the end of
normal time.
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11. |
Monaco 3-1 Real Madrid
(2003/04 Quarter-final)
Real Madrid won 4-2 in the first leg with
a breathtaking four-goal in the second-half. Real Madrid
CF was on course of the semi-finals; however, AS Monaco
produced one of the biggest upsets of the season by recovering
from a 4-2 first-leg deficit to defeat Real Madrid 3-1 and
earn a place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League
on the away goals rule. What a games! What a drama! Anything
more to say?
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12. |
Barcelona 5-1 Chelsea
(1999/2000
Quarter-final)
Chelsea created
a sensational upset by winning the first leg 3-1 at their
home stadium Stamford Bridge. However, in the second leg at
the Camp Nou, the game had finished 3-1 to Barcelona in normal
time. This made it 4-4 on aggregate with no away goals rule
advantage to either team and meant that an additional 30 minutes
of extra time was necessary.
Rivaldo scored the penalty to make the score 4-1 and Patrick
Kluivert scored a fifth goal in the second period of extra
time, making the final score 5-1 on the night and 6-4 over
the two legs to Barcelona.
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13. |
Bayer Leverkusen 4 - 2 Liverpool
(2001/02
Quarter-final)
On
an evening of extraordinary drama of 90 topsy-turvy minutes,
Liverpool conceded more goals than in all their previous Champions
League away games of 2001-02 combined. The dream of a place
in the last four is over for Gérard Houllier's players.
At the end Steven Gerrard stood disbelievingly, head in hands.
Yards away Bayer Leverkusen's coach Klaus Toppmöller
hugged his unquenchable team with such feeling that he hauled
them off the ground.
The final blow had been delivered by
the Brazil defender Lucio, not long after Jari Litmanen seemed
to have earned Liverpool a place in the last four with a fine
individual strike that would have put them through on away
goals.
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