AS Roma completed an astounding come-from-behind victory over Barcelona over two legs in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, turning around a 4-1 loss from Camp Nou with a 3-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday to advance to a European top-flight semi-finals for the first time in 34 years.
Roma, the clear underdogs from start to finish, jubilantly celebrated this historic achievement, becoming just the third team in the competition to overturn a three-goal deficit. But was it the greatest two-legged comeback in Champions League history? Let's take a look back:
Barcelona vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 2016-17
- 1st Leg: PSG 4-0 Barcelona
- 2nd Leg: Barcelona 6-1 PSG
Last year, Barcelona orchestrated a comeback victory of its own, overcoming a four-goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain with a 6-1 second-leg win, inspired by a late Neymar brace and Sergi Roberto's 95th-minute winner. It marks the first and only four-goal reversal in the competition, but the Blaugrana couldn't repeat the feat against Juventus after a 3-0 loss in the quarter-finals.
Deportivo La Coruna vs. AC Milan, 2003-04
- 1st Leg: AC Milan 4-1 Deportivo
- 2nd Leg: Deportivo 4-0 AC Milan
Deportivo La Coruna was considerably mightier at the turn of the millennium, and flexed that strength with an impressive turnaround against AC Milan in the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-finals. Milan's Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko, and Andrea Pirlo inspired a 4-1 win in the first leg, but those heroes fell flat in the second leg as Deportivo scored four unanswered goals to take the tie.
Chelsea vs. Napoli, 2011-12
- 1st Leg: Napoli 3-1 Chelsea
- 2nd Leg: Chelsea 4-1 Napoli
En route to celebrating its first and only Champions League victory, Chelsea's efforts were nearly scuppered by Napoli in the round of 16 as the Italian outfit defeated the Blues 3-1 in the first leg at the Stadio San Paolo. The second leg was kinder to Chelsea, who scored thrice in regulation time at Stamford Bridge to force extra time, when Branislav Ivanovic scored a 105th-minute winner.
AS Monaco vs. Real Madrid, 2003-04
- 1st Leg: Real Madrid 4-2 AS Monaco
- 2nd Leg: AS Monaco 3-1 Real Madrid
Despite being in the midst of its infamous Galacticos era, Real Madrid was on the losing end of an epic twist of fortune as AS Monaco snuck past the mighty Spanish side on away goals. Goals from Ivan Helguera, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, and Ronaldo (of Brazil fame) earned the Spanish side a 4-2 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Ludovic Guily, Sebastien Squillaci, and former Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes clawed their way to a 5-5 draw.
Bayern Munich vs. FC Porto, 2014-15
- 1st Leg: FC Porto 3-1 Bayern Munich
- 2nd Leg: Bayern Munich 6-1 FC Porto
"Bayern Munich" and "dominant display" are two terms that often go hand-in-hand, but a 3-1 loss to FC Porto in the first leg of the 2014-15 quarter-finals was anything but. Undeterred in their fight, however, the Bavarians went back to the Allianz Arena determined to not only win, but make a statement, and did just that, bullying Porto to a 6-1 win, 7-4 on aggregate.