The Champions League’s greatest ever shock results | OneFootball

There are some terrific David vs Goliath contests in the Champions League this week, with the potential for some historic upsets.

FC Kairat of the Kazakhstan Premier League welcome record winners Real Madrid to Far Eastern Europe on matchday two, while fellow debutants Pafos take on another giant in Bayern Munich. If either can pull off an upset, it would immediately enter this list of unforgettable Champions League shocks.

Five of the biggest Champions League upsets of all time

Maccabi Haifa 3-0 Manchester United (2002/03)

Manchester United might have left out some of their big hitters for the trip to Maccabi Haifa, but this was still a sizeable shock. The Red Devils had reached the semi-finals the previous season and had thrashed the Israeli outfit 5-2 at Old Trafford in the first meeting. Despite rotation, their side for the trip still included Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Diego Forlan, and both Neville brothers.

However, the return saw Sir Alex Ferguson’s side stunned, as Maccabi ran riot against their Premier League opponents. Yaniv Katan set Maccabi on their way to a famous victory just before half-time, before Raimondas Zutautas doubled the advantage. Future Premier League favourite Yakubu Ayegbeni scored from the spot to make it three on an unforgettable night for the home side.

Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan (2009/10)

Rubin Kazan achieved a feat few sides did during Pep Guardiola’s reign at Barcelona, with a stunning 2-1 at the Camp Nou. Barcelona had cantered to treble success the previous season, but the European champions were undone on home soil the following year.

The Russian debutants overcame huge odds to claim victory in Spain. Aleksandr Ryazantsev’s thunderbolt silenced the home crowd inside two minutes, though Zlatan Ibrahimovic brought Barcelona level just minutes into the second half.

Kazan, however, came again. Gökdeniz Karadeniz, whose shirt number was later retired at Rubin, scored the famous winner.

Inter Milan 2-5 Schalke (2010/11)

Another upset of the holders and one achieved in emphatic fashion. Few expected Schalke to pose a problem for Inter Milan, after the defending champions had eliminated Bayern Munich in the previous round to reach the quarter-finals. Schalke were struggling in the Bundesliga but ripped up the form book to thrash Inter at the San Siro.

Despite Dejan Stankovic’s wondergoal inside 25 seconds for Inter, Schalke battled back to claim a commanding first-leg lead. Ralf Rangnick’s side scored five times in a one-sided contest, with Joel Matip, Edu (2), Raul, and an Andrea Ranocchia own goal doing the damage. The German side won 2-1 in the return to progress 7-3 on aggregate.

Celtic 2-1 Barcelona (2011/12)

Any side beating Barcelona at the peak of their powers under Pep Guardiola can be considered an upset, but the manner in which Celtic achieved the feat was truly astonishing.

The Scottish side had just 16% of the possession against the tiki-taka masters, but somehow secured the win. Victor Wanyama rose to head home from a corner for the opener, before substitute Tony Watt scored a second in the closing stages to seal the win. Lionel Messi set up a nervy finish in added time, but Celtic held on to claim the points.

Real Madrid 1-2 Sheriff (2021/22)

Real Madrid ended the 2021/22 campaign as Champions League winners, but first overcame a blip in the group stage. The Spaniards were stunned by debutants Sheriff Tiraspol, as the Moldovan minnows won at the Bernabeu.

The match took place on 28th September 2001 and would see Sheriff cause an unreal upset by taking the tie 2-1. The *Moldovans* would shock Los Blancos when Sebastien Thill scored a late winner in the 90th minute at the Bernabeu.

Sheriff, who play in the Moldovan league despite being based in Tiraspol, in Transnistria, an unofficial region of Moldova with its own currency, boast an extraordinary financial advantage over their domestic opponents, but few envisaged a result of this magnitude.

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