6 of the Most Unbelievable Comebacks in Recent Footballing History

Arguably one of football's greatest features is a good old fashioned, against-all-odds comeback. An incident where a team full of spirited, motivated

90 Min | Mar 28, 2018

6 of the Most Unbelievable Comebacks in Recent Footballing History /

Arguably one of football's greatest features is a good old fashioned, against-all-odds comeback. An incident where a team full of spirited, motivated individuals pull together as a team and defy the expected outcome in enthralling fashion; it's what the game is all about.

As a neutral, it is undoubtedly the most entertaining aspect of the sport. The inspiring chanting around the ground from the fans urging their side on to come from behind, compared to the sheer anxiety of the team in the lead. It can literally be felt in the air.

If a team does successfully pull it off, a comeback can go down in history and be remembered forever by football fans throughout generations, whilst each player will be regarded a legend.

With that in mind, here are six of the best comebacks in recent history that will surely live long in the memory...

Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal

Perhaps the greatest fightback in Premier League history was witnessed inside St James' Park back in February 2011, a game which saw Newcastle battle back from four goals down against Arsenal.

The phrase 'a game of two halves' gets thrown around a lot, but this encounter epitomised the saying in it's entirety. Arsenal had put three goals past Tim Krul inside the first ten minutes before Robin van Persie added a fourth before half time, but what happened next was incredible.

After Abou Diaby saw red, Leon Best netted in between a Joey Barton double from the penalty spot to ensure a nervy finish for the Gunners. With just three minutes left, Cheick Tiote smashed home on the volley to send the Magpies' fans into raptures and seal a Premier League classic.

Reading 5-7 Arsenal (AET)

In one of the greatest League Cup games of all time, Arsenal came out on top of a 12-goal thriller after 120 minutes against Reading, against all odds in the context of the match itself.

Beforehand, the Gunners were expected by the majority to progress to the next round, but those presumptions were ridiculed when Reading went 4-0 up after 35 minutes. Theo Walcott netted in stoppage time of both halves, whilst Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny also scored to force extra time at 4-4.

Marouane Chamakh added an extra time double, whereas Walcott sealed his hattrick amidst a Pavel Pogrebnyak strike to secure the victory in an utterly crazy fixture.

Crystal Palace 3-3 Liverpool

A frantic affair from start to finish. Selhurst Park was rocking from the off anyway as a result of the Eagles surviving a Premier League season for the first time in their history. On the other hand, the away section was anxious as Liverpool's title hopes were fading.

The Reds led 3-0 after 55 minutes as Brendan Rodgers' side smelt blood in their quest to improve their goal difference, but that quest turned to complacency very quickly.

As Liverpool became more open, Palace felt their way back into the game. Three goals in nine minutes, one from Damien Delaney and an iconic Dwight Gayle brace, left the Reds' title dreams in tatters - as well as Luis Suarez in tears.

Liverpool 4-3 Borussia Dortmund (Aggregate 5-4)

After drawing 1-1 in the first leg, the second leg between Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund at Anfield was all to play for in this Europa League clash.

Two goals in the first nine minutes from Thomas Tuchel's men left the tie looking ominous for the Reds. Even despite Divock Origi pulling one back, Marco Reus' finish left Liverpool needing three goals with 25 minutes left.

Goals from Philippe Coutinho and Mamadou Sakho within 11 minutes had Anfield dreaming of one more with 13 minutes left to play, and in the dying embers, they got their wish.

Dejan Lovren rose highest to head home in the 91st minute to send fans, players and coaching staff into raptures, whilst also sealing the Reds' path into the Europa League semi finals.

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

An embarrassing 4-0 defeat to the Parisians at the Parc des Princes in the first leg left PSG with all but both feet in the Champions League quarter finals, but Barcelona had other ideas.

All Unai Emery's men had to do was maintain their healthy lead. They even added another goal to it through Edinson Cavani's vital away goal, but they still could not manage to see it out.

Barcelona, inspired by Neymar's brilliance and a riotous Nou Camp, rallied to lead 3-1 with just three minutes of normal time remaining whilst still needing three goals to progress.

A stunning freekick from Neymar, as well as a composed penalty from the Brazilian, meant that the Blaugrana needed just one more goal to progress with three minutes left.

Remarkably, in the 95th minute, a precise ball from Neymar was met by the toe of Sergi Roberto to spark wild scenes of jubilation in Catalonia; one of the greatest comebacks of all time had been witnessed.

Borussia Dortmund 4-4 Schalke

Borussia Dortmund and Schalke played out one of the most entertaining games in Bundesliga history at the Signal Iduna Park in November 2017.

The hosts led 4-0 after just 25 minutes and looked to have the victory wrapped up before the half time whistle had even been sounded, but Schalke had other ideas.

Three goals in 25 second half minutes after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's dismissal had the visitors needing just one more to seal a dramatic comeback, with the usual raucousness of Dortmund's fans now turned to anxiety.

With seconds on the clock, Schalke defender Naldo headed home from a corner to send the away support crazy, as well as steal a point from the jaws of defeat.

Published Mar 28, 2018

90 MIN