PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE semi-finals have shown us that some of the best ties in the competition come along at this time of year. Barcelona look a sure bet to go through ahead of their trip to the Allianz Arena where they meet Pep’s Bayern Munich, while the second semi final is more delicately balanced with Jueventus taking a one-goal lead to the Bernabeu against Real Madrid.
Here are the five most thrilling second leg semi-finals of the past twenty years.
Real Madrid 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (3-4 agg), 2013
Robert Lewandowski ripped the Spanish champions apart in the first leg in Germany bagging four goals. Dortmund had shown how to play counter-attacking football at its best in Signal Iduna Park but arrived in Spain looking to soak up the Madrid pressure for 90 minutes.
It took Real 83 minutes to break the resistance through Karim Benzema before Sergio Ramos sent the stadium wild when he rifled in a second with two minutes to go. That was as far as the comeback went however and Dortmund held out for a famous win.
Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea (2-3 agg), 2012
In what was one of the most remarkable Champions League campaigns of all time, Roberto Di Matteo led a Chelsea side that featured Jose Bosingwa, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou all the way to glory.
Their draw with Bayern Munich was a thing of brawn, bravery and an incredible amount of luck. Goals from Sergio Busquets and Andreas Iniesta either side of a John Terry red card put Barcelona in the driving seat before Ramires reminded us all that he is actually Brazilian with a sumptuous chip over Victor Valdes.
Lionel Messi then missed a penalty and as Barca flooded players forward Fernando Torres ran half the lentgh of the pitch unchallenged to round Valdes and spark disturbing noises from Gary Neville. That was worth £50 million alone.
Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan (2-3 agg), 2010
An absolute tactical masterclass from Jose Mourinho led to one of the biggest examples of ‘parking the bus’ in the history of football.
Needing to only lose by one goal against the reigning champions, Mourinho sent his side out to stifle Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. With just 24% possession throughout the match and playing with a man less for over an hour after Thiago Motta was sent off, the Nerazzurri held Barca scoreless until Gerard Pique’s 84th-minute goal.
A nervy ending followed but Mourinho took his side into a final which they ultimately won.
Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool AET (4-3 agg), 2008
In what was another thrilling Champions League showdown between these two, Chelsea eventually tasted victory to make it into their first Champions League final. Didier Drogba put the hosts ahead and on course to go through, but Fernando Torres (the Torres we used to know) lashed a brilliant shot past Petr Cech to bring the game to extra time.
Lampard and Drogba scored for the blues before Ryan Babel gave Liverpool hope with three minutes to go. Avram Grant’s men managed to hold out for the final few minutes and book their place in an all-English final against Manchester United.
Juventus 2-3 Manchester United (3-4 agg), 1999
In what has been described as one of the greatest individual performances of all time, Roy Keane played an exemplary role as a captain. After going two goals down courtesy of a double from Filippo Inzaghi, Keane responded by glancing a header into the bottom corner before ruling himself out of the final by earning a yellow card.
United, driven on by Keane and supplemented by the finishing of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole somehow came back to win, and the rest is history as they say.
– First published 20.00, 11 May