For yet another season, the Champions League reaches the quarter-final stage. Only eight clubs remain in the quest for the European throne. As we get ready to witness the best clubs in the continent battling for a spot in the semi-finals, we want to look back to some of the best moments during this stage of the tournament that will be remembered for ages.
Will this year’s memories make their way into the pantheon of football memories?
2020: Barcelona 2-8 FC Bayern
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, professional sports were also affected. One by one, every major competition cancelled their games with the hope that eventually the matches could be resumed. Of course, the Champions League was no exception. With no fans yet in the stands, UEFA decided to resume the knock-out on a neutral stage, which is why they decided to play the last matches of the competition in Portugal. Thus, an empty Estadio Da Luz welcomed Barça and Bayern.
Few could have predicted what happened next. Although you could have guessed what was about to come just by watching the first few minutes. Bayern played like raging bulls right from the start, and Muller opened the score in the 3rd minute. A few moments later, Alaba scored an own-goal in a counter-attack to level the game. Barcelona, guided by Messi dominated the next ten minutes and had some scoring chances.
But then, the storm. Bayern started pressing in their opposite third and their efforts were rewarded with three more goals. The score was 1-4 with only 30 minutes played. Although Luis Suarez reduced the margin with a goal after the break, Bayern’s intensity was too much for Barcelona. Joshua Kimmich made it 2-5 for the Bavarians in the 63rd minute to crush the Blaugrana’s hopes. As Barcelona agonized, Coutinho, on loan at Bayern from Barcelona, scored two goals and gave one assist in the last stretch of the game. The game ended with a final scoreline of 2-8. It was a historical win for Bayern, who ended up winning the title a few days later.
2019: Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham
The first leg saw Tottenham winning 1-0 Manchester City at home. With the Sky Blues leading the Premier League table, a battle was expected to determine who would advance to the semi-finals. The second leg was crazy. Sterling opened the score early in the 4th minute, while Son took advantage of a defensive mistake to tie the game only three minutes later. The Korean attacker, who also scored in the first leg, netted his second goal of the evening with a beautiful shot after a crucial recovery from Lucas Moura. City was now obligated to score at least three goals to survive. Bernardo Silva put the first ball in to make it 2-2, and ten minutes later Sterling finished a beautiful play for City to make it 3-2. Yes, you read that right: five goals in the first twenty minutes!
The tiki-taka machine kept pounding Tottenham’s goal, but Hugo Lloris was able to stop City’s attacks. Agüero scored the goal they needed to qualify in the 59th minute. Llorente spoiled the party for City with a very unorthodox corner goal. It looked like the Spaniard had scored using his hand, but VAR confirmed the ball rebounded on his hip before crossing the line. You’d think destiny wanted to favour City when Sterling scored again in injury time. 5-3? Not so fast. VAR disallowed the goal and Spurs went through. They would beat Ajax in the semis, but lose against Liverpool in the final.
2018: Real Madrid 1-3 Juventus
What makes the Champions League such a great competition is the great amount of drama you find in the knockout stages. The script can change so much with just one goal. That’s what (almost) happened at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2018.
The Madridistas expected an easy match. Why not? After a 3-0 victory at Juventus Stadium the previous week, only a miracle could kick Real Madrid out of the Champions League. Remember, the Blancos were the current champions, led by Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch and Zinedine Zidane from the sideline. But less than two minutes into the game, Mandzukic opened the score for Juventus. Madrid looked confident despite the early setback, but the Croatian striker made it 0-2 with another header in the 37th. It wasn’t going to be easy for Real Madrid, who kept attacking but without any success. The 0-3 arrived after a bad mistake from goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who failed to block an easy ball and Matuidi accepted the gift.
It looked like the match was going to enter extra time, but in injury time, Madrid’s offensive efforts were rewarded with a penalty kick committed over Lucas Vázquez. Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot to blow away the ghosts. Real went on to win their third consecutive title after beating Bayern and Liverpool in the next rounds.
2018: Roma 3-0 Barcelona
Who would have thought Roma had a chance of qualifying? They didn’t feature any big superstar and they had lost 4-1 at the Camp Nou in the first leg. But miracles do happen every once in a while in sports. Edin Dzeko laid the first stone for an incredible comeback in the 6th minute after, but Barca was able to slow down the tempo of the match right after. But early in the second half, the overconfident Blaugranas defenders fouled Dzeko inside the area. De Rossi converted from the spot, but still they needed one more to qualify.
Roma kept looking for the decisive goal, while Barcelona was trying to weather the storm. The Giallorossi’s suddenly looked like the better team, generating chance after chance. With less than 10 minutes to end the match, a header from Kostas Manolas sealed the comeback. Surely, it was one of Roma’s best matches of all time.
2010: Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal
There are some matches that transform players into legends. Messi experienced one of those playing against Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the 2009/10 Champions League. The first leg, played in London, finished 2-2. At the Camp Nou, it was Arsenal who struck first, thanks to Bendtner’s goal in the 18th minute.
But then, Messi put on the superhero cap. Three minutes later, the Argentinian put Barcelona back in the contest with a powerful shot from outside the area. From then on, he looked like a different player. Arsenal defenders couldn’t keep the pace against the marvellous attacker, who began to look like a modern version of Maradona. He put Barca ahead in the 37th minute with another goal, and only five minutes later scored a beautiful chip for the hat-trick. He scored one more before the full-time whistle. A nightmare for Arsenal, who would suffer from another brilliant performance by the Argentinian the following year.