If you’re a football fan, it’s fair to say that this week has delivered! On Tuesday we were subjected to Liverpool’s mesmerising comeback, beating Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield, after being 3-0 from the first leg, to go through to Champions League final. It was being hailed as the greatest Champions League comeback of all time, a game which united the fans, players and nation as a whole, bringing added meaning to the Liverpool anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
Fast forward 24 hours and in the 35th minute of Ajax V Tottenham semi-final second leg, Hakim Ziyech had just put Ajax 2-0 up, 3-0 on aggregate, dashing any hopes of Liverpool-esque comeback for Spurs. Or had he? Half time came and went, and Spurs started the second half much brighter. By the 59th minute they had made it 2-2 on the night, knowing that one more goal would take them through to the final. They couldn’t, could they?
By the 95th minute it looked like time had ran out, but no one had told Lucas Moura. The Brazilian hit a scuffed shot low into the bottom corner, completing his hat trick and ensuing bedlam from Ajax all the way to North London. It had happened again, an unlikely comeback from an English team, missing their best players and facing an impossible task.
Only it wasn’t impossible, and as the dust settles on both Liverpool’s and Tottenham’s heroics, we’ve decided to take a look back at some of the greatest ever comebacks in sport…
Tiger Woods
A decade of affairs, substance abuse, car crashes and knee surgeries had made it look like one of the greatest golfers of all time was going to leave the sport he loved as a forgotten champion. Tiger himself, however, had other ideas.
Earlier this year he defied all the odds, breaking through his demons with a mesmerising Masters win. Tiger’s victory, the first in an 11-year wait for a major trophy, was the first time he’d ever come from behind on the final day to win a major. Heroic!
Muhammad Ali
Quite possibly the most iconic fight ever, George Foreman took on Muhammad Ali in Zaire in 1974. Looking all but done in the eighth round and hanging on the ropes, tactical Ali unleashed an absolute barrage on the unsuspecting Foreman, sending him down to the canvas. Never have the words ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’ been more apt.
Dennis Taylor
Back in 1985, 18.5m people were glued to their television screens, way past midnight, to watch the astonishing comeback of snooker superstar, Dennis Taylor. After being 8-0 down following the opening session of the Crucible final, Taylor clawed it back to 17-17. One of the greatest, tense-filled final frame of all time, Taylor potted the final black to secure his win!
What do you think of our list? Do you have a favourite sporting comeback story? Share your favourite sporting comebacks with us on Twitter @RayburnSports.