This week Barcelona had their best comeback ever to knock out Paris Saint-Germain.
The Catalan club beat the Parisians 6-1 at the Nou Camp to overcome a 4-0 first-leg deficit and advance to the quarter-finals of the elite European club tournament.
With the excitement somewhat waning and everyone catching their breath after the thrilling soccer match, the question must now be asked if the Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain game is the greatest comeback of all time in soccer history.
Greatest comeback ever
The old football adage that tells players to keep going until the final whistle makes theoretical sense, but it’s difficult to enforce, especially when the lead looks insurmountable and the opposition is very strong.
A saying that does help players scramble to comeback, however, is the one that says it only takes a second to score.
6. Newcastle vs Arsenal (2011)
That Premier League game saw Newcastle stage an impressive comeback going 4-0 to defeat defending champions Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger’s side appeared to have all three points from the game before losing Abou Diaby to a red card for reacting angrily to a poor tackle by Joey Barton.
The Magpies stormed back with two Barton penalties on either side of a Leon Best strike before Cheick Tiote’s volley from 25 yards completed what was easily the biggest comeback in Newcastle history.
5. Reading v Arsenal (2012)
Arsenal make one more appearance on the list though, this time they were the ones who fought back when looking down and out. The Gunners came back from 4-0 after 37 minutes and beat Reading 7-5 in overtime to advance to the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.
A Jason Roberts volley, Laurent Koscielny own goal, Mikele Leigertwood and a Noel Hunt header appeared to have doomed Arsenal at the Madejski Stadium until goals from Theo Walcott, including a final second in injury time, Olivier Giroud and Koscielny, ended the game pushed into the extension.
Marouane Chamakh and Pavel Pogrebnyak exchanged goals in extra time and penalties were assured until Walcott completed his hat-trick in the 120th minute before Chamakh completed the job with a sweet lob in added time.
This riveting game marked the biggest comeback of the Capital One Cup to date.
4. Man United vs Bayern Munich (1999)
“This is the greatest moment of my life,” said Sir Alex Ferguson as his side beat Bayern with two stoppage-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær to end that famous comeback in the Champions League final.
Man United fell behind after six minutes of the match from a Mario Basler free-kick. Both teams traded shots, although the Bayern players were superior and unlucky not to increase their lead.
Ferguson introduced the two goalscorers as the Red Devils pushed to get back into the game. The adage ‘It only takes a second to score’ came to life in that game as United scored from a corner and appeared to have forced extra time.
Less than 30 seconds after the ensuing whistle, United forced another corner and scored a goal that sent Bayern Munich down.
Bayern Munich are rumored to have already been taped as the German side appeared to have won the game three minutes earlier.
3. Deportivo La Coruña vs AC Milan (2004)
Deportivo La Coruña played what seemed like time to stage their biggest comeback in football and Champions League history to date, beating Milan, the then-holders and favourites, 4-0 after beating in the first leg of the quarterfinals 4-1.
A clever shot from Walter Pandiani, a header from Juan Carlos Valeron and a fierce shot from Albert Luque gave Deportivo the lead at half-time.
Club captain Fran Gonzalez, who played for FC Barcelona’s second division team in the late ’80s and remains their record holder to this day, scored the fourth to secure their passage to the semi-finals.
2.Barcelona vs PSG (2017)
Barcelona is the second greatest comeback of all time in football.
No side had ever crashed a first leg with four goalsThe game had two minutes left and three goals before the end of regular time, but Barcelona certainly produced something we may not live to see.
Two quick goals from Neymar made the game the perfect 5-5, although the Parisians looked to set the rule for away goals in the fifth minute of added time when Sergi Roberto smashed the offside trap to make a piece of history.
1. Liverpool v AC Milan (2005)
Dubbed the miracle of Istanbul and arguably the Liverpool made their biggest comeback of all time in the second half, battling AC Milan for extra time.
Paolo Maldini and a brace from Hernan Crespo gave Serie A a 3-0 lead at the break as Liverpool drew level with goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso.
The game dragged on into extra time and then penalties with Liverpool rattled the nerves as Jerzy Dudek saved both Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty after Serginho’s first kick over the bar to their fifth European title.