The best Continental comebacks by English clubs in history.
Spurs staged an electric comeback to beat Ukrainian outfit Dnipro 3-1 (3-2 agg) at White Hart Lane on Thursday night to progress to the last-16 of the Europa League.
Arsenal, Man United and Manchester City will all need to something similar in UEFA’s premier club competition, with all three Premier League giants trailing 2-0 after their Champions League last-16 first legs.
The trio can take inspiration from Spurs and our list of the top five greatest European comebacks by English clubs:
5. Chelsea 5-4 Napoli
Chelsea’s staggering run to victory in the 2012 Champions League final looked in doubt at various stages but arguably never more so than midway through their last-16 double-header with Napoli. The Blues trailed 3-1 after the first leg in Naples but trigger-happy owner Roman Abramovich sacked boss Andre Villas-Boas before the return leg. Still in his honeymood period, new boss Roberto Di Matteo led the Blues to a 5-4 victory on aggregate and a place in the quarter-finals. The rest is history.
4. Manchester United 4-3 Juventus
Given the drama of United’s 1999 Champions League final with Bayern Munich, their run to the showpiece event is often forgotten. But in the semis, United’s staged a comeback almost as legendary as their eventual triumph. After Juve managed a 1-1 draw and a precious away goal at Old Trafford, United quickly went 2-0 down in Turin, as Flippo Inzaghi struck twice. But Roy Keane sparked an amazing three-goal swing to lead United to the final and one of their greatest ever victories.
3. Middlesborough 4-3 Steau Bucharest
After staging an impressive comeback against FC Basle in the quarter-finals, Steve McLaren’s Middlesborough again found themselves with a mountain to climb in the semis after going 3-0 down on aggregate to Steau Bucharest. But the Teesiders staged another crazy comeback, with a Massimo Maccarone header making it 4-3 in the 88th minute. Boro were spanked by Sevilla in the final but McLaren went on to get the England job, largely on the back of this win. If you do nothing else today, make sure to watch the above video. The commentary is legendary.
2. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich
One of the finest night’s in Manchester United’s history was looking grim for around 80 minutes after Bayern Munich’s Mario Basler netted a sixth minute free kick. But United clung on, largely thanks to goalkeeper Peter Schmeichael and subs Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both scored in injury time to seal an history treble for the Red Devils. United fans who left early to beat the traffic have never forgiven themselves.
1. Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan
So amazing was Liverpool’s victory over favourites AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final that ‘the spirit of Istanbul’, the venue of the greatest ever European comeback, has become a byphrase for immense character and spirit. Trailing 3-0 at half time to Paolo Maldini’s early header and a Hernan Crespo double, Liverpool were revitalised by Rafa Benitez’s introduction of Did Hamman for Harry Kewell. Steven Gerrard, Vlad Smicer and Xabi Alonso scored to take the game to penalties, where Jerzy Dudek was the hero.