Messi, Barcelona and the great Champions League comebacks

Hailed as perhaps football’s greatest team ever, Barcelona faced a challenge no club had overcome: advancing in the Champions League after trailing by two goals without having scored an away goal. Lionel Messi & Co. came through in spectacular fashion with another record-setting night. The 4-0 victory against AC Milan in the round of 16 before a screaming crowd of 94,944 at Camp Nou on Tuesday saw them become only became the fifth side in UEFA Champions League history to win a knockout tie after losing the first leg by two goals or more. In the final second-round matches Wednesday, Arsenal tries to overturn a 3-1 deficit at Bayern Munich and Porto goes to Malaga with a 1-0 lead. If Arsenal is eliminated, England won’t have a team in the last eight for the first time since the 1995-96 season. [caption id=“attachment_658407” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Messi turned in a magical performance. AP[/caption] We take a look at some of the greatest Champions League comebacks – matches that may offer hope and inspiration to the Gunners: 1999/2000 quarter-finals First leg: Chelsea FC 3-1 FC Barcelona Second leg: FC Barcelona 5-1 Chelsea FC (aet) This was the pre-Roman Abramovich era, Gianluca Vialli was coach and Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Louis van Gaal’s Barcelona was a surprise. Gianfranco Zola and Tore André Flo, who scored two goals, secured the win in the first leg. But Barcelona produced the perfect game to win the second leg 5-1 in extra time. Rivaldo’s penalty and a Patrick Kluivert goal promptly killed the Blues off in extra time. 2003/04 quarter-finals First leg: AC Milan 4-1 RC Deportivo La Coruña Second leg: RC Deportivo La Coruña 4-0 AC Milan Kaka’s two goals inspired Milan to an easy 4-1 win in the first leg but Deportivo held on to their slim chance with a tenacity that was unbelievable. Back in Spain for the second leg, Deportivo were a changed side: Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valerón and Alberto Luque made it 3-0 at the break, and substitute Fran González added with a fourth goal on 76 minutes to complete a famous win. Milan didn’t know what hit them. 2003/04 quarter-finals First leg: Real Madrid CF 4-2 AS Monaco FC Second leg: AS Monaco FC 3-1 Real Madrid CF Madrid cruised in the first leg. A 4-2 victory is often a big enough advantage for a top team like Madrid. But try telling that to Didier Deschamps and his team. When he was asked whether he thought the tie was lost after the first leg, the Monaco coach saying: “If I thought that, I’d be better off staying home.” And his team responded in kind. Ludovic Giuly levelled after Madrid went up early in the second leg, Morientes – on loan from Madrid – headed a second and Giuly made it 3-1. 2011/12 round of 16 First leg: SSC Napoli 3-1 Chelsea FC Second leg: Chelsea FC 4-1 SSC Napoli (aet) Chelsea were a team in shambles. The players didn’t like the manager André Villas-Boas and AVB didn’t like them either. After the 3-1 defeat in the first leg, AVB was sacked and Roberto Di Matteo stepped in to fill the breach but he did more than just step in. He somehow managed to work a miracle. Goals from Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard helped take the contest into extra time and Branislav Ivanović secured victory after 105 minutes. This just might have been the moment that told them there were more miracles awaiting ahead.