3 Champions League turnarounds to inspire PSG and Bayern
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After the latest round of Champions League action both Paris St-Germain, somewhat predictably, and Bayern Munich, surprisingly, have tough qualification tasks heading into their quarter-final second legs.
Both sides were on the wrong end of 3-1 scorelines in their first-leg outings, leaving the French side at 20/1 to plot a semi-final path and Pep Guardiola’s Germans a head-scratching 5/6 chance.
If either of them are to claw their way back from the brink of extinction, though, they’ll likely take inspiration from the many famous Champions League comebacks over the years.
Here are our three favourites:
Barcelona 5 Chelsea 1 – 1999/2000 quarter-finals
Gianfranco Zola and a Tore Andre Flo brace helped this pre-Roman Abramovich Chelsea side to a shock 3-1 first-leg victory at Stamford Bridge.
At 2-1 with seven minutes to go, the Blues looked to be heading through on aggregate, but Dani Garcia slotted to send the tie to extra time, where Rivaldo and Patrick Kluivert both scored to send the Londoners packing.
Monaco 3 Real Madrid 1 – 2003/04 quarter-finals
The unfancied French were predictably beaten 4-2 in Spain during the first leg, although Fernando Morientes’ late consolation goal would prove crucial in the final shake down.
Raul extended Los Blancos’ lead before the break in the return, but a Ludovic Giuly double, either side of a Morientes header, handed Monaco an improbable away-goals win.
That Morientes was on loan from Madrid at the time only made defeat harder to take for the star-studded La Liga giants
Chelsea 4 Napoli 1 – 2011/12 round of 16
By the time Napoli arrived in London for their second leg, having secured a 3-1 win in the first, Chelsea had switched managers. What an inspired change that would end up being too.
Roberto Di Matteo’s tenure as Chelsea boss wouldn’t last long, but will be inked in the club’s folklore after this storming Stamford Bridge comeback became the catalyst for a storied first Champions League win for the club.
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