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5 memorable Champions League knockout-stage comebacks


Atletico Madrid will have to overturn a three-goal deficit if they are to beat arch-rivals Real Madrid and secure a place in the Champions League final in Cardiff next month.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico side have home advantage in the second leg but with it all to do after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick at the Bernabeu last week.
Here, we look at some of the more memorable occasions on which teams have overturned big deficits to go through after a rousing second-leg performance.
Barcelona 6 Paris St Germain 1 (Barcelona win 6-5 on aggregate) – March 2017
After being humbled 4-0 in the first leg in Paris, few gave Barcelona a chance of overturning such a big deficit in the second leg at the Nou Camp but in Luis Enrique’s final season as head coach that is exactly what Lionel Messi and Co pulled off.
Barca surged ahead through Luis Suarez, an own goal from Layvin Kurzawa and a Messi penalty only for Edinson Cavani to hit back for PSG. All looked lost for the Spanish giants but Neymar scored after 88 minutes and with an injury-time penalty before Sergi Roberto struck the final blow five minutes into stoppage time.
Deportivo La Coruna 4 AC Milan 0 (Deportivo win 5-4 on aggregate) – April 2004
Deportivo's Walter Pandiani netted the opener against AC Milan (Tony Marshall/EMPICS)
Deportivo’s Walter Pandiani netted the opener against AC Milan (Tony Marshall/EMPICS)
No eyebrows were raised when Serie A giants Milan thumped Deportivo 4-1 in the first leg at San Siro, with superstars Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko and Andrea Pirlo living up to their star billing.
But three goals in a remarkable first half at Riazor, sparked by Walter Pandiani’s opener, turned the tie around. The Rossoneri were hanging on until the 76th minute, when Fran sent Deportivo through.
Monaco 3 Real Madrid 1 (Monaco progress on away goals after 5-5 aggregate score) – April 2004
Monaco's Fernando Morientes scored against Real Madrid (Adam Davy/EMPICS)
Monaco’s Fernando Morientes scored against Real Madrid (Adam Davy/EMPICS)
Real Madrid should have read the small print when they sent Fernando Morientes to Monaco on loan in 2003. Annoyingly, he scored against them in the first leg of this quarter-final tie, but they won 4-2.
A healthy lead established, Los Blancos headed for Monte Carlo full of confidence, only for Morientes to once again stick the knife into his employers, with Ludovic Giuly’s brace sealing their fate.
Barcelona 4 AC Milan 0 (Barcelona win 4-2 on aggregate) – March 2013
Lionel Messi bagged a brace in Barcelona's comeback against AC Milan (Mike Egerton/EMPICS)
Lionel Messi bagged a brace in Barcelona’s comeback against AC Milan (Mike Egerton/EMPICS)
Milan, by 2013 no longer the all-conquering side of old, had scored two unanswered goals in the first leg at San Siro.
Never before had a team recovered from 2-0 down without an away goal, but there was no reckoning with the magic of Messi, as his brace preceded goals from David Villa and Jordi Alba.
Manchester United 3 Olympiacos 0 (Manchester United win 3-2 on aggregate) – March 2014
Patience with Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor David Moyes was already wearing thin among the Old Trafford faithful, and a 2-0 defeat to Greek side Olympiacos a month earlier did little to aid the Scot.

But Robin van Persie gave Moyes a little longer in the hotseat by scoring a hat-trick in Manchester to steer United into the quarter-finals, a stage at which Bayern Munich proved too strong for them.

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