THE 20 GREATEST EUROPEAN COMEBACKS EVER!

20 BARCELONA 5-1 CHELSEA AET (6-4 AGG)

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, QUARTERFINAL SECOND LEG, 1999-2000

Chelsea were going places even before the Roman Empire dawned. Having won the FA Cup, League Cup and – unsurprisingly – Cup Winners’ Cup, the Blues had secured another (winning) Wembley final against Aston Villa by the time they breezed into the Champions League semis… or not.

The quarter-final clash was a classic game of four halves. Gianluca Vialli’s charges were 3-0 up at half-time in London, but Luis Figo gave Barcelona something to chase at the Camp Nou. There, they scored twice to lead on away goals at the interval, before Tore Andre Flo’s goal forced extra time. The hosts prevailed after Celestine Babayaro saw red.

If only the referee, Anders Frisk, had never done this fixture again. Five years later he’d retire after red-carding Didier Drogba during a last 16 match and receiving death threats.

19 PARTIZAN 4-0 QPR (6-6 AGG)

UEFA CUP, SECOND ROUND SECOND LEG, 1984-85

In European knockouts of yore, many an underdog won at home before succumbing away. Even so, triumphing 6-2 at Highbury (Loftus Road’s plastic pitch offended UEFA) gave Belgrade-bound QPR more than a little confidence. Briefly.

“We were beaten before the game started,” sighed boss Alan Mullery. “I saw the players’ faces change when we walked out to sample the atmosphere. It scared the life out of me.”

Wanting a two-goal cushion “to take the sting out of the tie”, Mullery discovered even four wasn’t enough against a bombardment from Partizan and their passionate fanbase. After Zvonko Zivkovic – playing just five days after finishing a year of national service – made it 4-0, QPR had half an hour to score. They didn’t.

18 RED BULL SALZBURG 4-1 LAZIO (6-5 AGG)

EUROPA LEAGUE, QUARTER-FINAL SECOND LEG, 2017-18

Energy drinks can have different effects on one’s constitution. Perhaps that’s why one April evening witnessed RB Leipzig wasting a two-goal advantage in their Europa League quarter-final while Salzburg, fellow cattle in Red Bull’s stable, roared back in theirs.

True, Salzburg benefitted from a couple of deflections and lax Lazio