The return of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 sees European heavyweights pitted
against each other and offers one-sided ties where upsets look improbable but are certainly
not unprecedented. It is the most popular competition globally not only due to the quality of
the teams but for the drama and unpredictability of the fixtures.
Last season Villarreal made an unlikely journey to the semi-finals of the competition where
they were eventually beaten by Liverpool. This season the likes of SL Benfica are another
highly regarded side that are not quite among the European elite but could go far in the
competition, although they will need to knock out some heavyweights if they are to reach the
latter stages. They will face Club Brugge in the round of 16 who upset Atletico Madrid to
qualify from the group stage and will need many more surprise triumphs if they are to
continue to progress. But which Champions League upsets were the greatest of all time and
have perhaps set blueprints that teams of the present can follow in order to defeat some of the
most prestigious teams?
Dynamo Kyiv vs Real Madrid (1998/99)
Real Madrid were one of the main favourites to win the 1998/99 edition of the Champions
League when they faced Dynamo Kyiv in the quarter-final who were led by now legendary
forward Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukrainian scored in the away tie in Madrid, before netting
a brace in Kyiv which dumped the Spanish giants out of the competition with an aggregate
score of 3-1.
Now holding 14 UCL titles, Madrid are the most successful team in the history of the UCL
and its former title of the European Cup. Their victories range from 1956 to 2022 so
defeating Los Blancos in any edition of the tournament is a huge achievement. They are again
one of the favourites to win this year's competition and claim their 15th triumph according to
sports betting markets across the US. The popularity of sports betting is rapidly growing
across the nation as more and more states continue to pass laws that allow
legal sports betting in the US.
The increased interest in a wider range of sports is also a huge factor, with huge
competitions such as the UCL being broadcast on US television.
The season of upsets (2003/04)
The 2003/04 edition of Europe's premier club competition was full of surprise results from
beginning to end. Jose Mourinho's Porto eventually lifted the trophy after a dramatic run to
the final. The runners-up AS Monaco also produced their fair share of upsets in reaching the
final in Schalke.
In the round of 16 against Manchester United, Mourinho's side recorded a victory in the
home leg before heading to Old Trafford to see off Sir Alex Ferguson's side and reach the last
eight. Despite their first-leg advantage, Paul Scholes' strike left them on the brink of
elimination due to the crucial away goal the Red Devils scored in Portugal. But the drama
was not over as Tim Howard would later palm away Benni McCarthy's free-kick effort back
into the danger zone for Costinha to score the deciding goal which made the eventual
remarkable
achievement of Porto winning the UCL possible.
Monaco have had several different generations go on meaningful runs in the UCL, but 2004
was the most impressive as they reached the final but unfortunately fell at the final hurdle
against Porto. The landmark game for the Ligue One side was in the quarter-finals as Real
Madrid were again on the receiving end of an upset. In the second leg at home, Monaco were
trailing 5-2 on aggregate as the half-time break beckoned, but Ludovic Giuly managed to
hand them a lifeline before the interval.
Ironically
Monaco's on-loan striker from Real Madrid Fernando Morientes then scored
against his parent club in the second half which was perhaps the most controversial event of
the night. The Spaniard's strike meant that Giuly's second goal which arrived soon after
would eventually send Monaco to the semi-finals on the away goals ruling.
FC Barcelona's collapses
FC Barcelona headed to Rome with a 4-1 lead from the first leg of the quarter-final in
2017/18 and were expected to comfortably progress to the final four of the competition. Edin
Dzeko's early goal gave AS Roma hope, but Barca needed just one goal and Roma would
then need four. But in the second half, Roma began to dominate the proceedings, creating
better chances and controlling the tempo of the game. They were roared on by a raucous
Olimpico crowd as they earned a penalty which left them a goal away from qualification. In
the latter stages, Kostas Manolas headed in a corner at the near post to dump a complacent
Barcelona team out.
This was a trend that unfortunately continued for Barcelona in the following season, this time
in the semi-final they faced Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. A first-leg victory at the Nou Camp by
three goals which culminated in a spectacular Lionel Messi freekick appeared to have the
Catalan side close to achieving a spot in the final.
Barca had to first overcome the return leg at Anfield, but they had not necessarily learned
from their mistakes of the previous year as they were again left shell-shocked by an
intimidating atmosphere. They made errors in defence that led to conceding an early goal via
Divock Origi, but they managed to get to half-time at just a one-goal deficit and still looked
like favourites to go through. Gini Wijnaldum's introduction into the game was the decisive
factor as he scored a quick-fire brace that levelled the tie. At this stage, Messi's team looked
depleted of any mental strength to fight back in the tie, in truth they were already beaten
before Origi fired the ball into the net from a quickly taken corner late on. Liverpool went on
to
win their sixth European Cup and despite struggling this season they are again one of the
main teams expected to realistically compete for the trophy in Istanbul.
Past results in the competition show that even sides having the strongest mentalities such as
Real Madrid are beatable by lesser sides, but from past years we have also seen Los Blancos
produce many surprises of their own in improbable late comeback victories.
Barcelona's shortcomings show that even sides with an incredible amount of technical quality
can struggle to get over the line when faced with a tough away atmosphere. FC Porto's
incredible UCL win of 2004 showed that it was possible for minnows to succeed at the peak
of European football, although the genius of Jose Mourinho was a huge factor in that.
The UCL is always filled with shocks and surprises and this year will likely be no different,
picking a dark horse or an eventual winner is a tough task, all of the remaining 16 teams are
incredibly strong opposition. An exciting knockout round awaits in the lead-up to the final in
Turkey in June.