The Champions League resumes on Tuesday evening and for three of its eight remaining teams, what is required would verge on the historic (as always you can catch all the action on Paramount+ with additional coverage across CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network). While Inter’s 2-1 win at Bayern Munich left everything to play for at the San Siro on Wednesday every other tie seems like it could quite plausibly have been wrapped up in the first 90 minutes.
Aston Villa have a two goal deficit to overcome at home to Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid need three against Arsenal just to take the tie to extra time while if Borussia Dortmund were to eliminate Barcelona they would become only the second team in the history of Champions League to qualify after losing by a four goal margin in the first leg.
Then again, it has been done. From Super Depor to the greatest assist a ball boy has ever gone, via La Remontada, Champions League history is replete with surprise comebacks. Three teams have achieved what Real Madrid must on Wednesday night. Villa knocking out PSG would make them the 10th team to overturn a two goal deficit in their home leg. Let’s dive into the history of the Champions League in search of past triumphs that can inspire this week’s underdogs:
Declan Rice busts Real Madrid mystique with two astounding goals as Arsenal dominate in Champions League
James Benge
1. Madrid must match Deportivo
2003-04 Champions League quarterfinal
First leg: AC Milan 4 (Kaka 45′ 49′, Shevchenko 46′, Pirlo 53′), Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Pandiani 11′)
Second leg: Deportivo La Coruna 4 (Pandiani 5′, Valeron 35, Luque 44′, Fran 76′), AC Milan 0
The greatest defense of their era rocks up in Spain with a three goal lead to defend. Sound familiar? For Arsenal 2024-25 read the AC Milan 2003-04 rearguard anchored by Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta. Frankly it is a far more intimidating backline for Deportivo La Coruna than the one Real Madrid will face on Wednesday. After all, the Rossoneri were the European champions and had cruised into the quarterfinals in no small part due to their defense, which had conceded only five goals across nine Champions League games heading into the second leg. Away from home they were masters of tightening things up, zero goals conceded on the road in the competition so far.
Then Walter Pandiani scrambled a low shot past Dida and the Riazor, already rocking out of hope, began to believe. More significantly, the atmosphere seemed to trigger Milan. How else to explain all three of Cafu, Dida and Maldini misjudging the cross from which the great Juan Carlos Valeron doubled Deportivo’s lead on the night? Or why Nesta totally misjudged a long ball that allowed Albert Luque in, turning a 4-1 first leg deficit into a 4-4 where Super Depor led on away goals? Another from Fran and the Galicians were impressively through to the first (and to date only) European semifinal in their history.
Lessons for Madrid: It’s going to take an early goal. From kick off onwards Madrid are going to have to be a relentless force of energy, the “crazy buzz bombs flying around all over the place” that Andrea Pirlo would go on to describe Deportivo as in his autobiography.
2. Villa Park must get in PSG’s heads
2018-19 Champions League semifinal
First leg: Barcelona 3 (Suarez 26′, Messi 75′ 82′), Liverpool 0
Second leg: Liverpool 4 (Origi 7′ 79′, Wijnaldum 54′ 56′), Barcelona 0
The task ahead of Aston Villa might feel onerous, but it is nothing to what it looked like Liverpool had to do when they welcomed Barcelona to Anfield in the 2018-19 semifinals. A 3-0 defeat in the Camp Nou, a depleted home lineup with no Mohamed Salah or Roberto Firmino: even Jurgen Klopp was telling his players this was “impossible”… for anyone but them. Divock Origi struck early, watching the game back it is at that moment that Barcelona start to jitter.
To understand the magic of that night we must return to the previous season and Barcelona’s 4-1 first leg lead over Roma. Again it seemed like the hard work had been done in the first leg but Edin Dzeko was in inspired mood, leading from the front right the way beyond Kostas Manolas’ forceful late header. It was as if the team who had performed the Champions League’s greatest act of escapology were cursed to play the part of witless rube from there on out.
Certainly Lionel Messi and company began to fear that as Anfield roared on Liverpool. When Georginio Wijnaldum’s 122 second brace brought them level, Barcelona didn’t know where to look. That much was apparent when 14 year old Oakley Cannonier quickly rolled the ball to Trent Alexander-Arnold to take a corner. No one was looking as he drilled it low towards the six yard box, Origi turning home the historic winner for the team who would go on to be crowned champions of Europe once more.
Lessons for Aston Villa: Having a raucous atmosphere from the off certainly helps quite a lot but Unai Emery probably doesn’t need to worry that Villa Park will be anything other than electric on Tuesday. More intriguing is whether there are PSG nerves for Villa to prey on.
This might be a very different iteration of the French champions but those wearing this journey have made quite a habit of falling apart in the big moments on the European stage in the past. Would memories of 44 unscored shots against Dortmund and Karim Benzema’s one man wrecking job come crashing back if this night starts badly for PSG?
3. Dortmund just need multiple iconic forwards
2016-17 Champions League round of 16
Paris Saint-Germain 4 (Di Maria 18′ 55′, Draxler 40′, Cavani 72′), Barcelona 0
Barcelona 6 (Suarez 3′, Kurzawa 40′ o.g., Messi 50′ pen., Neymar 88′, 90+1 pen., Roberto 90+5), Paris Saint-Germain 1 (Cavani 62′)
Only one team has achieved what seemed impossible after 90 minutes had been played in the 2016-17 round of 16. Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani had put Barcelona to the sword in a 4-0 first leg win, but where there was Lionel Messi there was a chance, right? That certainly seemed to be true when Barcelona found themselves 3-0 up with 28 minutes left to play, one more goal enough to take them to extra time. Then a deep free kick was flicked down to Edinson Cavani, a fearsome volley worthy of winning any tie. That was surely what he had done. This was the time of away goals. Barcelona had just gone from needing one to take the tie to extra time to needing three in little over half an hour to advance.
The fightback was not immediate. Barcelona had to ride a wave of further pressure before destiny found Neymar. A gorgeous free kick bent in at the near post, a cooly taken penalty and then a wonderful ball over the backline for Sergi Roberto to poke home. In that moment the young Brazilian was as brilliant a player as any in the world. That is what had been needed to achieve La Remontada.
Lessons for Borussia Dortmund: Have prime Messi and pair him with another all-time elite forward playing the game of his life. Maybe Dortmund can achieve something miraculous at the Westfalenstadion but if they do it’s hard to see it being in anything like the superstars willing a win fashion that Barcelona did.
