Two decades ago, UEFA decided to revamp the Champions League by eliminating the need for a second group stage and instead replacing it with an extra round of knockout football. The result was an upset to the status quo and a shift in the balance of power, with FC Porto shocking the continent to win the competition in 2004, and a Liverpool side containing the likes of Djimi Traore and Jerzy Dudek winning the following year. The balance of power was soon restored, however, not before a number of underdogs had their moments in the sun.
In recent years, more and more emphasis has been placed on topping the group. Take a look at Arsenal for example. They were eliminated in the second round for seven consecutive years throughout the 2010s and on five of those occasions, they were handed tough tests against the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona after finishing as group runners-up. Unlike the Gunners though, some special teams have been able to usurp their seeded rivals in the second round before going on to glory.
Here are the only four teams to have done so.
Liverpool
Liverpool had a torrid time domestically last season and finished way down in fifth place. They have started the new campaign in a much better fashion however and as such, the English Premier League odds currently make them 5/1 joint second favourites for the title this year. Back in 2005 though, the Reds were a shadow of the team that Jurgen Klopp has since built.
Back then, the Merseysiders were reeling and had been overshadowed by the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League. They returned to the Champions League for the 2004/05 season after two years in the UEFA Cup, and a last-gasp Steven Gerrard strike against Olympiacos secured them a spot in the knockout stages as runners-up to Monaco. From there, fate took over.
The Reds knocked off Bayern Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea to set up a date with AC Milan in the Istanbul showpiece. There, they would come back from 3-0 down in one of the greatest comebacks of all time to lift the trophy for the fifth time. They would repeat the feat under Klopp in 2019, finishing second in the group stages behind Paris Saint-Germain before ultimately lifting the trophy with a 2-0 victory against Spurs in Madrid.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have also lifted the trophy twice despite finishing as group runners-up, and they did so in back-to-back seasons. In the 2016/17 season, they finished as group runners-up behind Borussia Dortmund. Despite that though, they would become the first team in Champions League history to successfully defend the trophy, beating Napoli, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and finally Juventus in the final.
The following campaign they finished as runners-up, this time to Tottenham Hotspur. Despite that they went on to defeat Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern and Juventus once more and ultimately Liverpool in the Kyiv finale, securing an unprecedented threepeat in the process.
Inter Milan
Heading into the 2009/10 season, Inter Milan hadn’t tasted Champions League success in 45 years. Step up the Special One, Jose Mourinho. His Nerazzurri finished as runners-up to Barcelona in the group stage, but they would knock off the Catalonians in a heated semifinal contest, before defeating Bayern Munich in the Bernabeu to secure the crown.
FC Porto
Speaking of the Special One, it was in 2004 when he truly announced his arrival as the planet’s finest manager. He led an unfancied FC Porto side to a first-ever Champions League title despite finishing as runners-up to Real Madrid in the group stages. They defeated tournament favourites Manchester United in the second round, before taking full advantage of a number of heavyweight exits to set up a final against AS Monaco, which they would comfortably win 3-0.
