How Many Times Has a Three-Goal Deficit Been Overturned in the UEFA Champions League?

English Premier League sides had awful evenings in the first legs of their respective UEFA Champions League Round of 16 ties, with no fewer than three of them having to overturn three-goal deficits to progress to the quarterfinals. Manchester City were stunned by record 15-time champions Real Madrid, losing 3-0 in the Bernabeu after a stunning hat trick from captain Federico Valverde. Spurs had a similarly difficult night in the Spanish capital as they lost 5-2 to Atletico Madrid, while their London rivals, Chelsea, were beaten by the scoreline by defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Tournament favourites Arsenal even had a difficult time of it. The Gunners headed to face German outfit Bayer Leverkusen and looked as though they would return to North London, having to overturn a one-goal deficit after Robert Andrich’s opener. However, a last-gasp Kai Havertz penalty earned a share of the spoils, and the bookies have remained steadfast in their evaluations of Mikel Arteta’s men.

Online betting sites make the current Premier League leaders a clear 5/2 favourite to claim the famous ‘Big-Eared’ trophy this season, with an implied probability calculator suggesting that they have a 28.57% chance. This kind of calculator is a useful way to get to grips with what probability the betting numbers actually translate to.

Three of their compatriots, however, have a relative mountain to climb if they are to progress to the quarterfinals.

So, to give them some inspiration, let’s look at every three-goal comeback the UEFA Champions League has ever seen. Spoiler alert… There aren’t many. Four to be exact, most recently…

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (Liverpool Win 4-3 on Aggregate)

Back in 2019, Liverpool needed a miracle if they were to progress past tournament favourites Barcelona in the semifinals. Lionel Messi’s brace, coupled with former Red Luis Suarez’s early opener, handed the Blaugrana a dominant 3-0 victory in the first leg at the Camp Nou. With both Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino missing in the second leg, surely Jurgen Klopp’s side were as good as eliminated already.

Well, not so fast. Divock Origi’s early strike gave the Merseysiders hope, before a quickfire brace from substitute Gini Wijnaldum shortly after the break suddenly had Liverpool level. Then, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s clever, quickly taken corner found Origi unmarked in the box, and the Belgian striker rifled home his second on the night to give his side a scarcely believable 4-0 win on the night and 4-3 aggregate victory.

Roma 3-0 Barcelona (Roma Win on Away Goals)

Barcelona are no strangers to second-leg collapses. The season before their Anfield nightmare, the Blaugrana headed to face Roma with a three-goal lead after a 4-1 quarter-final first leg triumph in the Camp Nou. Inexplicably, however, the Catalonians would fall apart in the Stadio Olimpico.

Striker Edin Dzeko would give the Giallorossi hope when he opened the scoring six minutes into the second leg. Then, shortly into the second half, the Italian outfit was awarded a penalty and captain Daniele de Rossi duly slotted it away.

The game headed into its final ten minutes finely poised. Barcelona held a one-goal advantage; however, if Roma could find an equaliser, they would progress to the semifinals courtesy of the away goals rule. With eight minutes remaining, that goal came when Kostas Manolas’ bullet header flew past goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 3-0 Roma, 4-4 on aggregate, but courtesy of their one goal in the Camp Nou compared to Barcelona’s zero in the Stadio Olimpico, it was the Giallorossi who progressed against all odds.

Barcelona 6-1 Paris Saint-Germain (Barcelona Win 6-5 on Aggregate)

But Barcelona have delivered a second-leg comeback of their own. In fact, they’ve delivered the greatest comeback of all time.

When Luis Enrique’s side was thumped 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their 2017 second round tie, all hope seemed lost. In the second leg at Camp Nou, the Blaugrana were dragging themselves back into the contest, with goals from Suarez, Messi, and a Layvin Kurzawa own goal meaning that there was just a one-goal deficit with half an hour remaining. Then, disaster struck.

Edinson Cavani struck for Paris Saint-Germain, handing his side an all-important away goal, which meant that Barca needed three more to progress. By the 88th minute, the scoreline remained the same, and Enrique’s men were surely on their way out. Then, the miraculous Remontada somehow reared its head.

Neymar scored a stunning free kick with just two minutes of normal time remaining, before then slotting home a penalty just three minutes later. Suddenly, Barca were alive, and they needed just one more goal to progress. With time ticking away, Nymar delivered a perfect free kick into the Parisian penalty area and homegrown hero Sergi Roberto arrived perfectly at the back post to volley home and seal a gob-smacking 6-1 victory on the night, with Barca winning 6-5 on aggregate.

Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 AC Milan (Deportivo win 5-4 on aggregate)

When reigning champions AC Milan beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-1 in the first leg of their two-legged quarterfinal, it seemed like business as usual for the much-fancied Rossoneri. In the return fixture, however, they were about to fall victim to the history-making maiden three-goal UCL comeback.

The Spaniards headed into the second leg without much hope, but that was all about to change. Walter Pandiani netted after just five minutes before talismanic midfielder Juan Carlos Valerón also got on the scoresheet 30 minutes later. One minute before halftime, Albert Luque added a third, meaning that Deportivo were already ahead via away goals at halftime. But they weren’t finished.

14 minutes from full-time, Spanish international Fran added his side’s fourth on the night, handing his side a 5-4 aggregate lead. Milan were unable to find a goal to force extra time, and Deportivo were left to celebrate, shockingly dumping out the reigning European champions.

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