Felipe Santana broke Malaga hearts last season
The UEFA Champions League makes its long-awaited return next week, and if last season’s competition is anything to go by we can expect some late drama all the way through the knockout rounds. Manchester City v Barcelona is arguably the highlight of the last 16, but their are plenty of other tasty ties.
Manchester City v Barcelona comeback betting odds
City to lead at half-time but Barcelona to win – 24.00
Barcelona to lead at half-time but City to win – 28.00
(All odds provided by GR88.com are accurate as of today and subject to change)
Late goals amplify the joy and heartbreak of football fandom, while often leaving players just as heartbroken as the supporters. Who can forget Sammy Kuffour pounding the turf after the 1999 final, or the horror on the face of Werder Bremen’s Tim Wiese after costing his side victory over Juventus in 2006?
Ahead of next week’s ties, which include the heavyweight clash between ManchesterCity and Barcelona, Betting Instinct looks back at some of the competition’s most memorable late goals.
- Marco Reus and Felipe Santana, BORUSSIA DORTMUND v Malaga, 2013 Quarter-Finals
On paper the quarter-final looked as close to a formality as possible for Jürgen Klopp’s Dortmund side. They had emerged unbeaten from a tough group including Real Madrid, Ajax and ManchesterCity before sailing past Shakhtar Donetsk to face a Malaga side on the wane and burdened by financial issues.
A goalless draw in the first leg was supposed to set Dortmund up for a straightforward home win, but it was anything but as goals from Joaquin and Eliseu either side of a Robert Lewandowski strike put Manuel Pellegrini’s team on the verge of the semi-finals.
However Klopp responded by bringing on inspirational centre-back Mats Hummels, who had missed the first leg due to an ankle problem. Then the German club did the unthinkable, netting twice in injury time through Marco Reus and Felipe Santana, the latter having only started the game due to Hummels’ injury. The dramatic finish set up a semi-final clash with Real Madrid, and we all know what happened next.
- Andrés Iniesta, Chelsea v BARCELONA, 2009 Semi-Finals
Many Chelsea fans will tell you that Guus Hiddink’s side were one of the finest to never win the Champions League, and a minority (perhaps inspired by Didier Drogba’s ‘disgrace’ outburst) continue to cry conspiracy to this day over a devastating semi-final exit.
Hiddink won 11 of his 13 league games after replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari in February, and also oversaw European victories over Juventus and Liverpool, leading the London club to a semi-final matchup against Pep Guardiola’s formidable Barcelona outfit.
After a stalemate at CampNou, Michael Essien’s early stunner was the difference between the teams as the second half drew on. Chelsea felt they should have been further ahead, with multiple penalty appeals declined, and this made Iniesta’s 93rd-minute decider all the more painful. The midfielder’s shot from distance – a great goal in its own right – saw Barcelona progress to the final, where they claimed the first of their two Champions League trophies under Guardiola.
- Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, MANCHESTER UNITED v Bayern Munich, 1999 Final
Manchester United had no right to win this game. A suspension to captain Roy Keane left the club with a makeshift midfield, and a Bayern side packed with German internationals were in charge for large portions of the game after taking an early lead through Mario Basler.
United rode their luck in the second half, with Mehmet Scholl hitting the post and Carsten Jancker’s overhead kick striking the crossbar, and in a final act of desperation the English club brought on strikers Sheringham and Solskjær and even threw forward goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel for a last-minute corner.
A tired Bayern defence were unsettled by the keeper’s presence, allowing Sheringham to turn home David Beckham’s delivery and seemingly set up extra-time. However it got even better barely a minute later when another Beckham corner was poked goalwards by Sheringham for Solskjær to prod the ball into the roof of the net.
Pure unbridled joy for United was mixed with pain for Bayern, whose veteran defender Lothar Matthaus had left the field 10 minutes from time expecting to hold the trophy aloft.
Those three matches demonstrated just how quickly things can change in football, and the same applies when you have money on a result. That’s why GR88.com have introduced a late goal refund in time for this year’s knockout stages.
If your bet is ruined by a goal scored in the 88th minute or later then you can earn a refund of up to £50, so you can enjoy all the late drama without having something else to worry about. And if that wasn’t enough, the offer has been extended to games in the English Premier League. Just sit back, relax, and watch some of the world’s best players do their thing.
TOM VICTOR (editor) is the editor and co-founder of Betting Instinct. He has written for a variety of sports sites in the past, including JustFootball, Footy Matters and BeNeFoot.
