Champions League: The 5 best comebacks of the 2018/19 edition

#1 Tottenham vs. Ajax – Semi-Finals

Lucas Moura's shocking hat-trick inspired a phenomenal comeback from Tottenham against Ajax

If Liverpool’s comeback against Barcelona was incredible, this result bordered on the downright ridiculous. After a relatively tight first leg that saw Ajax defeat Tottenham 0-1 at Spurs’ new stadium, Mauricio Pochettino’s men didn’t appear to have as much of a mountain to climb as Liverpool did against Barcelona – but it was clear from their first leg performance that they would need to improve dramatically to win.

One thing was for sure. After Erik Ten Hag’s side had torn Spurs to shreds in the first 30 minutes of the game, and had only looked like conceding much later on, Pochettino’s men knew an early goal would be the key to overturning the deficit. Sure enough, we got an early goal – in the 5th minute to be exact – but rather than being for Spurs, it was for Ajax, as captain Matthijs de Ligt headed home from a corner.

Tottenham appeared to be overawed by the occasion and were thoroughly outplayed during the first half, and when Hakim Ziyech doubled Ajax’s lead – and put them 3-0 up on aggregate – with 35 minutes gone, the tie looked done and dusted. Ajax even walked onto the pitch for the second half to the chilled sounds of Bob Marley singing “every little thing is gonna be alright”.

Somehow though, everyone had counted out Spurs too early. Pochettino made a substitution at half-time, sending striker Fernando Llorente on for midfielder Victor Wanyama, and the result was almost instantaneous. Tottenham began to pump long balls to the big Spaniard, and suddenly Ajax’s defenders – de Ligt and Daley Blind – began to look vulnerable.

On 55 minutes, Spurs made the breakthrough they were looking for, Lucas Moura and Dele Alli combining to allow the Brazilian to slot home from close range. And from there Tottenham’s spirit grew, and just 59 minutes later, Ajax keeper Andre Onana saved from Llorente, only for a defensive error to allow Moura to show some nifty footwork before turning to fire in his second.

Could the comeback really be on? It looked possible, but despite pushing hard, it didn’t seem like Spurs would get the third goal they needed to win the tie – if they could stop Ajax from scoring again that was, and the Dutch side came close when Ziyech hit the post.

When Jan Vertonghen’s header from a corner in practically the last minute struck the bar, it looked like Spurs’ hopes were going down in flames. Incredibly though, one last attack saw Moussa Sissoko hit a long ball towards Llorente again, and this time a flick from Alli sent the ball into the path of Moura – who slotted past Onana to break Ajax’s hearts and complete the most improbable comeback of the 2018/19 Champions League – setting up a final against Liverpool in the process.

Perhaps Tottenham’s comeback wasn’t quite as jaw-dropping as Liverpool’s hammering of Barcelona – but it was certainly more dramatic to watch given it took place over just 45 minutes and saw a 96th-minute winner – and so for me at least, it belongs in the top spot.