Liverpool will attempt to do the impossible when they take on Barcelona in the second leg of their semi-final champions league clash at the famous Anfield that has witnessed a series of extraordinary comebacks in its history.
The Reds go into the second leg with the mission to overturn a 3-o result against a Barcelona side that have arguably the Greatest Footballer of All Time (GOAT) in their ranks in the person of Lionel Messi. The Argentina international scored his 599th and 60oth goal for the club in the first leg at the iconic Camp Nou stadium.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring against his former side last week, but it was Messi who took the headlines for his brilliant freekick from 30 metres out which left Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker clutching at the straws.
Barcelona who already have the La Liga title wrapped up already will go into the full of confidence and are clear favourites to go through to the final showpiece at the Wanda Metropolitano.
However, with the champions league always providing fans with a lot of drama, it won’t be a surprise if Jurgen Klopp’s men are able to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in football history. There have been antecedents in the competition and it’s something that is not strange to the two sides.
They have both been involved in two of the greatest miraculous comebacks in Champions League history. Liverpool, in particular, have been involved in some of the dramatic matches in European competitions with a majority of it coming at the intimidating Anfield stadium. So for the purpose of this piece, we’ll be taking a look at some of the greatest comebacks in European competitions that can inspire Liverpool tonight.
Barcelona vs PSG ( UCL Second Round 2016/2017): Barcelona were in need of a miracle when they welcome Paris Saint Germain to the Camp Nou for the second leg of their champions league round of 16 clash in the 2016/2017. The Blaugrana went into the game having suffered a 4-0 loss to the French champions in the first leg at Parc De Princes.
Goals from Julian Draxler, Edinson Cavani and two from Angel Di Maria sent the Paris crowd into raptures. However, against all odds, Barcelona were able to turn it around by winning 6-1 on the night and 7-5 on aggregate to send the Camp Nou fans into raptures.
Barcelona vs Roma ( UCL Quarter finals 2017/2018): Barcelona were on the receiving end this time around and it was a defeat that was tough to swallow. The La Liga champions had taken full control of the tie following a 4-1 victory in the first leg at the Camp Nou.
But the Giallorossi still believed going into the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico and they achieved one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the competition by winning 3-0 to qualify on away goals. The match is also famous for the iconic Peter Drury commentary.
Liverpool vs AC Milan ( 2005 Champions League final): Forget the champions league. This is arguably the greatest comeback in the history of football. Down 3-0 at halftime to one of the best teams the champions league have witnessed, All hopes were lost for the Rafa Benitez men. But the unthinkable happened as Steven Gerrard’s header sparked a revival. Goals from Smicer and Xabi Alonso drew the Reds level.
A double save from Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek in the 30 minutes of extra time proved fate was on Liverpool side and it turned out to be so as the Kop won on penalties to complete the greatest comeback of all time.
Chelsea vs Napoli ( Champions League second round 2011/2012): Odds were stacked against Chelsea going into the second leg of this tie against Napoli. The Blues had suffered a 3-1 defeat in Naples three weeks earlier and that resulted in Andreas Villa Boas sacking.
However, his replacement Roberto Di Matteo to a miraculous comeback with a 4-1 victory on the night and 5-4 on aggregate. The Blues eventually went on to win the competition beating Bayern Munich on penalties.
Man Utd vs PSG ( Second round 2018/2019): Solskjaer’s men were on the brink of a second-round exit after they suffered a 2-0 home defeat in the first leg of their second-round clash against French side Paris Saint Germain.
With about 10 first team players missing for the second leg due to injury, everything pointed towards a comfortable victory for the French champions. But the Red Devils flipped the script as they went through on away goals with a 3-1 victory on the night.
Other Notable matches:
Liverpool vs Chelsea ( 2006/2007 UCL semi-finals): The Reds needed to turn around a 1-0 deficit against one of the best defensive sides in Europe when they welcomed Jose Mourinho to Anfield.
They got the perfect start with a brilliant finish from Daniel Agger. Both sides were unable to find the third goal that would have settled the tie and it went to a penalty shoot-out which Rafael Benitez side won to qualify for their second champions league final in three years.
Liverpool 4-3 Borussia Dortmund ( 2015/2016 Europa League Quarterfinal)
