The Champions League is the pinnacle of club competition in football. Every young player dreams of one day being able to compete amongst the biggest names in the sport and getting their hands on the famous trophy.
Over the years, we have seen Europe’s elite go head-to-head and treat fans to some of the most exhilarating contests.
With that said, let’s take a look at 10 of the most unforgettable matches in the history of the Champions League since its rebrand in the 1992/93 season.
10 Bayern Munich 8-2 Barcelona (2019/20)
Starting the list strongly is Bayern Munich’s stunning 8-2 victory over Spanish giants Barcelona.
The game took place in August 2020 inside an empty stadium following the return to football after the pandemic halted all competition earlier that year, and it was perhaps for the best that Barcelona fans were not present, in hindsight.
After just seven minutes, the scene had already been set when both sides had found the back of the net – albeit only with an own goal from Bayern defender David Alaba levelling the scores after Thomas Muller’s opener.
It was Bayern who would capitalise on the energetic start, though, and they found themselves going into the half-time interval with a 4-1 lead.
Hope was briefly restored for the Catalan side when Luis Suarez grabbed a goal back shortly before the hour mark, but Bayern would quickly respond by putting the game to bed. A late brace from Philippe Coutinho only added insult to injury, as the Brazilian midfielder was on loan to the Bundesliga side from Barcelona at the time.
Barcelona manager Quique Setien would be sacked just days later, while Bayern would go on to win the competition for the sixth time later that month.
9 Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur (2018/19)
The 2018/19 quarter-final between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will forever be remembered for its incredible drama, particularly surrounding VAR, which was being debuted in that campaign.
An emphatic opening 20 minutes saw Tottenham trailing 3-2 on the night, though they had the advantage due to the away goals rule. Sergio Aguero gave City an aggregate lead just before the hour mark, but the drama was far from over.
A controversial goal from Spurs striker Fernando Llorente saw the north London side regain their lead, with a VAR check inspecting whether an arm was used to direct the ball into the goal going in the visitors’ favour.
Raheem Sterling then had the ball in the back of the net in the final minutes of injury time, but the goal was sensationally denied by VAR due to an offside earlier in the move, sending Spurs through to the semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history.
8 Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Malaga (2012/13)
Malaga’s unforgettable run in the 2012/13 Champions League season still to this day marks their only appearance in the competition, and they were only minutes away from reaching the semi-finals.
When Eliseu gave the Spanish side a shock 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the second leg, Dortmund needed to score at least twice, or they would be eliminated on away goals.
Marco Reus offered a glimpse of hope when he pulled one back in injury time, but it was defender Felipe Santana who stole the headlines when he won it for Dortmund in the final seconds of the game, despite Malaga’s calls for an offside.
Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund side would be narrowly beaten in the final by league rivals Bayern Munich that year, while Malaga have since been relegated as low as the third tier of Spanish football.
7 Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (2018/19)
When a Barcelona side featuring the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez gave Barcelona a 3-0 lead in the first leg of this 2018/19 semi-final, not even the most optimistic of Liverpool fans would have given them a chance at progressing through to the final – though the impossible was made possible.
The odds were heavily against Liverpool, and the absences of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino only added to their pre-match woes.
However, braces from Divock Origi and Gini Wijnaldum helped Liverpool pull off a huge upset to send Jurgen Klopp’s side through to the final, where they beat Premier League rivals Tottenham to become European champions for a sixth time.
6 Barcelona 6-1 Paris Saint-Germain (2016/17)
In terms of the round of 16, there haven’t been many comebacks more incredible than Barcelona’s feat against PSG in the 2016/17 season.
After being stunned in a 4-0 loss in Paris, Luis Enrique’s side had effectively been written off by everyone in the footballing world.
Despite improbably finding themselves 3-0 up and appearing on their way to making the comeback without much trouble, the tie was seemingly concluded when Edinson Cavani scored a crucial away goal, meaning Barcelona needed another three goals in less than half an hour.
In typical Champions League fashion, Neymar scored a quick brace beyond the 88th minute, before defender Sergi Roberto completed the sensational comeback in the 95th minute of the game.
5 Chelsea 2-2 Barcelona (2011/12)
When a Chelsea side led by inexperienced interim coach Roberto Di Matteo earned a 1-0 win over reigning champions Barcelona, many still expected them to be blown away at Camp Nou.
A first-half red card to captain John Terry followed by a quick Barcelona double only made it seem more difficult to see Chelsea turning the game around, but fate was on their side that night.
Brazilian midfielder Ramires restored Chelsea’s advantage on away goals with an incredible chipped effort on the stroke of half-time, before Lionel Messi saw his penalty effort rebound off the crossbar after the break.
Despite being under severe pressure for the majority of the second half, 10-man Chelsea held their own against one of the most talented sides football has ever seen, and an injury-time breakaway saw Fernando Torres take the ball past Victor Valdes and famously send them through to the final.
4 Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City (2021/22)
The semi-final fixture between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the 2021/22 campaign was one of the most action-packed encounters the competition has seen in recent years.
An incredible end-to-end first leg saw the English side come out on top with a 4-3 lead, and when Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring in the second leg with just over 15 minutes left to play, it seemingly put the game to bed.
Heading into injury time, Madrid needed to score twice just to bring the game to extra-time – which is when the unthinkable happened.
Rodrygo scored an unbelievable brace in less than two minutes, and from that moment onwards it was only ever going to result in victory for the Spanish side.
Karim Benzema converted a penalty in extra-time to complete one of the most dramatic semi-final comebacks the Champions League has ever seen, before going on to lift the trophy for the 14th time against Liverpool in the final.
3 Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid (2013/14)
Another extraordinary Real Madrid comeback enters in third place, this time being in the Champions League final against fierce local rivals Atletico Madrid in 2014.
Having fallen behind to a Diego Godin header in the first half, Real Madrid had thrown everything at Thibaut Courtois’ goal, but to no avail. That was, of course, until the 93rd minute of the game in what was essentially going to be the last opportunity to bring the game beyond the full-time whistle.
Sergio Ramos found himself on the end of Luka Modric’s corner and nodded the ball past Courtois to bring life back into his side. They were able to run away with the result by scoring three quick goals in the final minutes of extra-time and finally getting their hands on “La Decima”.
2 Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan (2004/05)
It’s the age-old debate amongst football fans regarding which Champions League final was better – 2004/05 or 1998/99.
In second place is Liverpool’s famous win over AC Milan. After conceding inside the first minute and then finding themselves 3-0 down at half-time to one of the most talented sides in the world, it was hard to see any other outcome than an AC Milan victory.
However, after 15 minutes of the second half, Liverpool had miraculously levelled the game, leaving it up for grabs for either side to take home the trophy.
Neither side could be separated before or after extra-time, meaning a penalty shootout would decide the winner.
Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek wrote his name in club folklore after saving the decisive penalty to hand the Anfield side the trophy for the fifth time in their history.
1 Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich (1998/99)
While there isn’t much between the two finals in terms of thrill and excitement, what was at stake in the 1998/99 final and how it was won is what gives it the edge to be named the greatest Champions League game of all time.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side knew that a win over Bayern Munich would secure the domestic treble – a feat which had never been accomplished by an English side before then. However, an early goal from Munich’s Mario Basler looked to be the difference between the two sides, as the lead remained intact as the game was heading into stoppage time.
That was until the 91st minute of the game when Teddy Sheringham got on the end of Ryan Giggs’ effort and placed it past Oliver Kahn to level the scores and almost surely send the game to extra-time – but United weren’t finished.
Less than two minutes later, United had won another corner, and the rest is history. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found himself free at the far post to direct the ball into the roof of the net, and in a matter of minutes, Manchester United had gone from down and out to becoming the first-ever English side to complete the treble in the most dramatic fashion.
