Greatest European comebacks as Man Utd beat Lyon

Manchester United produced a stunning late fightback to beat Lyon and reach the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday.

They came back from being 4-2 down and scored twice in the final minute of extra time to achieve an extraordinary 5-4 victory at Old Trafford and 7-6 aggregate win.

It is arguably up there with one of the best fightbacks in European compeition.

Tottenham travelled to Ajax for the second leg of their semi-final trailing 1-0, and things went from bad to worse in Amsterdam when Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech put Ajax 3-0 ahead on aggregate before the break.

Spurs needed to score three times without reply to progress, and were given a glimmer of hope 10 minutes into the second half through Lucas Moura – and it was game on just four minutes later.

Moura pounced on a loose ball in the box after Fernando Llorente’s shot was saved and he curled home to put the hosts on the ropes.

Just 24 hours before Tottenham’s heroics in Amsterdam, Liverpool had become just the third club in the history of the Champions League to overturn a three-goal first-leg deficit.

The Reds’ hopes of forcing their way back into the semi-final after a 3-0 loss to Barcelona at the Nou Camp looked slim, especially with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino unavailable due to injury.

But Divock Origi got the ball rolling on seven minutes, before the tie really turned in the space of 166 seconds after half-time when substitute Georginio Wijnaldum scored twice.

Fulham welcomed Juventus to Craven Cottage having lost the first leg 3-1 and it did not take long for the tie to look out of their grasp.

After just two minutes, David Trezeguet netted an early goal for the Italian side.

However, Bobby Zamora scored seven minutes later and ignited a comeback which proved pivotal in a season where they reached the Europa League final.

Fabio Cannavaro’s sending off for a professional foul on Zoltan Gera helped swing the game in Fulham’s favour before the Hungarian’s neat finish put them ahead.

Trailing 4-2 from the first leg in Italy, Salzburg’s challenge looked to have been ended when Ciro Immobile extended Lazio’s lead in Austria 10 minutes into the second half – his 39th goal of the season.

But Moanes Dabour pulled a goal back a minute later with a deflected strike to stir the home side back to life.

Amadou Haidara’s 72nd-minute stunner from 30 yards sparked an amazing four-minute period, in which Hwang Hee-chan put the Austrian champions ahead on away goals before Stefan Lainer headed an aggregate winner.

Arguably the greatest comeback of all, this one is so iconic that it has its very own title in France and Spain – La Remontada (the comeback).

PSG were clinical at home, winning 4-0, but the Nou Camp sensed something special when Luis Suarez scored after just three minutes in the second leg.

Barcelona were two goals to the good at the break courtesy of a Layvin Kurzawa own goal, but still trailed by two goals on aggregate.

Lionel Messi scored a penalty soon after the restart but Edinson Cavani hit back to silence the home faithful, although it wasn’t the pendulum-swinging moment PSG hoped for.

Barcelona, now trailing 5-3, needed three goals in fewer than 30 minutes to achieve a miracle. Neymar scored a free-kick in the 88th minute to offer further hope, before the Brazilian stroked home a 91st-minute penalty to level the tie at 5-5 on aggregate.

But PSG were still heading through on away goals.

Moving away from two-legged ties, the 2005 Champions League final was an unforgettable night of football.

AC Milan thought they had their hands on the trophy after racing into a 3-0 half-time time, but seven second-half minutes altered the course of history.

Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso scored to level the game for Liverpool and that is how it remained after 120 minutes, with Reds keeper Jerzy Dudek making a stunning double save from Andriy Shevchenko in extra-time.

In a memorable year for English comebacks in the Champions League, it all started with Manchester United seeing off Paris St-Germain in the last 16.

Interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered the first defeat of his tenure in the first leg when a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford halted an 11-game unbeaten run.

None of the previous 107 clubs to lose a Champions League or European Cup first leg by two goals or more at home had managed to advance and few expected United to buck that trend.

But Romelu Lukaku got United off to the perfect start after two minutes only for Juan Bernat to hit back 11 minutes later, restoring PSG’s two-goal aggregate lead.

It was almost scripted that Manchester United would seal the final piece of their historic Treble in ‘Fergie Time’.

With the Premier League and FA Cup already secured, United had the small matter of German giants Bayern Munich standing in their way in the 1999 Champions League final, at the Nou Camp.

With Roy Keane and Paul Scholes both suspended, United’s hopes had already been dealt a blow, and their mission grew even tougher when Mario Basler put Bayern ahead on six minutes.

But ultimately the final proved to be a tale of two substitutes – Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.