Since its inaugural tournament, the Champions League has provided with fans with as many wonderful moments as it has shocking ones. There have been countless upsets over the years that have left fans delighted or devastated. Here’s a look at some of the major surprises that the Champions League has given us. If you were interested in betting on the champions league, check out todays requested bets.
Dynamo Kiev 2-0 Real
Madrid – 1999
In March 1999, the 13-time winners, Real Madrid, were given
a hefty dose of humble pie when they faced Dynamo Kiev and fell at the quarter
final stage of the competition. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, they arrived
at the Olympiyskiy Stadium with an understanding that they had to score, but
they didn’t. In fact, in the second half, Andriy Shevchenko secure a second
goal for the home side that meant they continued on to the latter stages of the
league, leaving
Real Madrid in the dust.
BATE Borisov 3-1
Bayern Munich – 2012
In 2012, Bayern discovered that they were exempt from
disappointment, despite inflicting it on many other teams in the past. In one
of the more surprising results in their history, they fell against BATE Borisov
in Belarus 3-1. They were humbled in the group stages of the league and were
unable to avoid the embarrassment, even though they had the likes of Manuel
Neuer, Toni Kroos and Franck Ribery on their side. The fact that they went on
to lift the trophy later in the season goes to show just how much of a shock
this result was for fans and players alike.
Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan – 2009
You would have thought that being footballing royalty would
be enough to secure a win against Rubin Kazan, but the outcome of this
particular game was evidence that anyone can fall from grace. The fact that
this particular defeat came at the Camp Nou was adding insult to injury too.
The memorable game took a bad turn early on when the Russians took a
second-minute lead thanks to Alexander Ryazantsev. While Zlatan Ibrahimovic
regained some of their dignity following the break, it wasn’t enough, and the
underdogs wound up winning the game.
Celtic 2-1 Barcelona
– 2012
Guardiola isn’t the only manager of Barcelona to have
endured a surprising defeat – it also happened to Tito Vilanova shortly after
his departure when the club suffered an embarrassing loss against Celtic in
2012. The on-field events were disastrously one-sided – the hosts had five
shots compared to Barcelona’s 23, and they earned just 11% of the possession.
Yet it didn’t matter in the end, as they managed to win the game 2-1 against
the Catalans, even though they completed almost 800 more passes over the course
of the game.
APOEL Nicosia 1-0
Lyon – 2012
APOEL Nicosia provided fans with an impressive
enough achievement in qualifying for their group, let alone winning against
Lyon in the next round to set themselves up for a quarter-final battle against
Real Madrid where they were defeated.
