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#3 2012-13 UEFA Champions League knockout phase (Winners: Bayern Munich)
The 2012-13 Champions League knockout phase was rife with absolute German domination.
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Jupp Heynckes returned to managing following a short spell away from the sport. He came and reinvigorated a Bayern Munich team struggling with ageing players. Jurgen Klopp's young and ruthless Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, were doing the rounds on every news channel owing to their attractive style of play.
The Round of 16 in the Champions League that year saw superstar Cristiano Ronaldo face his former side Manchester United for the first time since leaving for Real Madrid. The Portuguese emerged victorious in the tie, incredibly leaping nearly two meters off the ground to score against his former employers.
Bayern faced Juventus in the quarter-finals, seeing them off with ease in a 4-0 aggregate win. In the semi-finals, history was made in both the ties.
Borussia Dortmund beat Real Madrid 4-1 at the Signal Iduna Park, with Robert Lewandowski incredibly netting all four goals for the Black and Yellows. They prevailed 4-3 on aggregate, surviving a 2-0 loss at Madrid in the return leg, to make the final.
In the other semi-final, Bayern Munich utterly humiliated Barcelona, steamrolling past them with a 7-0 aggregate scoreline to reach the title match. It marked a sad demise, the end of an era for the Blaugrana, who had won La Liga that season in dominant fashion.
Here is how the knockout phase draw of the 2012-13 Champions League looked like.
The final saw Bayern squeeze past Dortmund 2-1 in an exciting game at the Wembley Stadium in London, England.
#2 2016-17 UEFA Champions League knockout phase (Winners: Real Madrid)
The 2016-17 Champions League knockout phase saw some of the most high-scoring and thrilling games in competition history. A total of 62 goals were scored on aggregate across eight Round of 16 ties.
Bayern Munich annihilated Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate, winning 5-1 both home and away to deflate the Gunners. It marked the worst defeat suffered by an English club in the competition's history.
Elsewhere, Barcelona trailed Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 going into the second leg of their tie.
The Blaugrana came roaring back to win 6-1 on the night, advancing with a 6-5 aggregate win in one of the greatest turnarounds in football history. That marked the first time any team in Champions League history overturned a four-goal first-leg deficit to advance to the next round.
That Barcelona side birthed the historic 'La Remontada' (or 'The Revolution').
The knockout phase also saw the birth of a new footballing demi-god in Kylian Mbappe, whose Monaco side saw off Manchester City on away goals following a 6-6 aggregate draw. The Frenchman scored a stunning goal at the Etihad Stadium to help the Islanders secure a quarter-final berth.
Real Madrid were the team to beat in the knockout stage. They beat Bayern Munich 6-3 on aggregate (after extra time), seeing off bitter city-rivals Atletico Madrid 4-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Monaco beat Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals, but fell 4-1 on aggregate to eventual finalists Juventus in the semi-finals. Here is how the knockout phase draw looked like that season.
Real Madrid saw off Juventus 4-1 in the final to seal back-to-back Champions League triumphs. That made them the first team in the Champions League era to successfully defend their title. They would go on to do a three-peat the next year.
#1 2018-19 UEFA Champions League knockout phase (Winners: Liverpool)
The 2018-19 Champions League knockout phase makes it onto this list for all the right reasons. Among the outstanding positives was Ajax's incredible run to the semi-finals, where they fell to eventual finalists Tottenham Hotspur in painful fashion.
Ajax saw off Real Madrid 5-3 on aggregate in the Round of 16. That included a dominant 4-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu. They then beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus in the last eight.
In a tasty semi-final clash with Tottenham Hotspur, Dusan Tadic was the main man as Ajax saw off the English team away from home.
In the semis, with a goal up, leading 3-2 on aggregate, Ajax looked set for another European final in their rich history. However, Spurs' Lucas Moura had other plans with a late strike.
Elsewhere, Liverpool defeated Bayern Munich 3-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16, and eased past Porto 6-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. Barcelona saw off Lyon with a 5-1 aggregate scoreline before strolling past a hapless Manchester United side 4-0 on aggregate.
Liverpool faced Barcelona in the semi-finals, and were down 3-0 after the first leg following a horrendous display at the Camp Nou. However, in the second leg, the Reds, despite missing several key players, staged an incredible comeback. They rallied to win 4-0 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate.
Divock Origi's stunning late strike, facilitated by the presence of mind of Trent Alexander-Arnold to take the corner quickly, shattered Barcelona's hopes of reaching yet another European final.
Here is how the Champions League knockout stage draw that season looked like.
Liverpool went on to beat Spurs 2-0 in the final to win their sixth Champions League crown.
Notable Mentions
In the 2019-20 season, Bayern Munich dominated the Champions League knockouts. COVID-19 restrictions also played a part, as ties from the quarter-final stage onwards were single-legged instead of the original double-legged format.
Bayern Munich trounced Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16 before smashing Barcelona 8-2 in a lopsided single-legged quarter-final.
They then beat Lyon 3-0 in the semis, and continued their domination by beating Ligue 1 giants PSG 1-0 in the final to seal their sixth Champions League win. In the process, they won the continental treble for the second time in eight years.
