Sportskeeda Football 2018 Awards: 5 most memorable moments of the year

#4 Roma’s crazy comeback

The 2017/18 edition of the Champions League was full of crazy incidents and unbelievable games, but one of the most memorable moments came in the quarter-final tie between Barcelona and Roma. On paper, it didn’t even look like a close contest; Roma had scraped past Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of 16 while Barcelona had swept Chelsea aside.

The first leg went exactly to the script, as Eusebio di Francesco’s side were destroyed at the Nou Camp, losing 4-1 with their only consolation being an 80th-minute goal from Edin Dzeko. They looked dead and buried going into the second leg. Surely they couldn’t overturn such a deficit?

Somehow though, the miracle happened. Dzeko put Roma into the lead in the 6th minute, Daniele de Rossi added a second from the penalty spot in the 58th minute, and then with 8 minutes left on the clock, defender Kostas Manolas popped up to head home and complete one of the all-time great Champions League comebacks.

Roma’s substitutes and coaching staff immediately spilled onto the pitch to celebrate after the final whistle had blown, and the fans in the Stadio Olimpico couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Roma went on to lose in the semi-finals to Liverpool, but their comeback against the mighty Barca will live on in the minds of their fans for years to come.