5 last gasp winners in major tournaments of all time

Football is a game of strange proportions. No matter how well a team plays for long periods of play, all it takes for a goal to be scored is a single moment of inspiration. This moment of inspiration can come as late as in the last minute of a match, such that a team heading for assured defeat can turn the tide around by scoring with the last kick of the match. Last-minute goals in major matches are things of legend, and players who happen to get the winning touches are immortalized in club histories.Teams preparing for victory celebrations have paid for a moment’s lapse of concentration by conceeding a goal at the last minute, and consequently being incapable of comprehending what suddenly hit them. There is no coming back from something like that, a last minute-winner is a killing blow if there ever is one in football.This is a look at some of the most dramatic finishes to matches in major competitions, where the events of the last minute have overturned all that happened in the rest of the match – and sometimes, the rest of the year.

#5 Rivaldo vs Valencia, 2001

Rivaldo and Puyol on a mad dash after the unbelievable last minute goal

Back in 2001, when Barcelona had not yet adopted their merciless tiki-taka game that crushed all adversaries, they were involved in a last matchday scrap with Valencia for the last Champions League qualification spot from the La Liga. While a draw was enough to ensure Valencia’s progress, Barcelona required three points to pip their opponents.

The scoreline was stuck at 2-2 and the night looked to be favouring Valencia, until a supreme moment of genius by the Brazilian Rivaldo gave the Catalans a lead in injury time which could not be beaten. Rivaldo, already having scored two in the match, completed one of the most dazzling hat-tricks ever, in the most outrageous way possible – courtesy an overhead kick from the edge of the penalty area.

It is not for no reason that Rivaldo, the one-man-army, is considered to be a legend at Barcelona. In the pre-Messi and pre-tiki taka days, the club would often rely on him to pull themselves out of sticky situations such as these.

#4 Michael Thomas vs Arsenal, last match of 1989 season

Thomas with the deciding touch on the ball as Liverpool defenders desperately lunged in

1989, the year which was marred by the Hillsborough tragedy, saw the unique situation of there being a play-off match for the title between Arsenal and Liverpool, with Arsenal needing to win by a 2 goal margin to steal away the trophy from Liverpool’s grasp.

Alan Smith's 52nd minute header had given the Gunners hope, which were gradually ebbing away with every passing minute. With the referee indicating one last minute of football to be played, a long throw from the goalkeeper fell to Alan Smith, who passed it on to Michael Thomas in the hope that he would accomplish the unlikeliest of feats and send Liverpool hearts crashing.

Thomas dribbled through the crowded penalty box – Brian Moore screamed his immortal "It's up for grabs now!" line – Thomas flicked the ball past the Liverpool keeper and sent the Arsenal part of the stadium flying into wild rapture.

Such drama on the last day of the Premier League has only happened on one other occasion, which finds a place one rung higher on this list.

#3 Sergio Aguero vs QPR, last match of 2012 Premier League

Jubilant City players celebrate the most incredible come-from-behind league victory

The final day of the 2011-12 season was more chaotic than anything seen before or after in England’s top tier domestic league. Manchester United and new upstarts Manchester City were locked with each other for the top spot in the league for the entire year. The last matchday came with the two teams equal on points but City ahead on goal difference.

With Manchester United winning at Sunderland, City required to equal their result, but appeared to lose their stomach for the fight after going down 2-1 to QPR. An incredible pandemonium of goals ensued in the four minutes of injury time, while United players prepared for the trophy presentation ceremony in another part of the country. Edin Dzeko scored the equalizing goal in the 92nd minute, and Aguero provided the finish to an exquisite Balotelli pass in the last minute.

It was Manchester City’s first title in the Premier League era. "I swear you'll never see anything like this ever again," promised commentator Martin Tyler.

#2 Dennis Bergkamp vs Argentina, 1998 World Cup quarter final

Ayala reacts with shock to Bergkamp’s last minute work of art

Superpowers Argentina and Netherlands were squaring up against each other with a semi-final spot on the line in a knockout match in the World Cup under the humid French sun. Wonderful goals are scored every week in some match being played in some part of the world, but the divine skill showed by Bergkamp in the most crunch-situation on the biggest stage possible keeps him at second spot on this list.

Known as a perfectionist in whatever he does, Bergkamp later said that this is the goal which gives him the most pleasure on thinking back. The match was locked at 1-1, with Argentina having more of the goalscoring chances. Quite against the run of play, Dutch captain Frank de Boer made a fairly hopeful 60-yard long pass towards the Argentine box.

With three delightful touches in the wink of an eye, Bergkamp broke Argentine hearts and took the Dutch sailing to the semi final. This was a momentous event because not only had the Dutch looked far inferior on the night, but also because they had a one-man disadvantage, and were looking to be quite satisfied with the prospect of settling the tie on penalties.

With his first touch, he plucked the ball from the air, with his second he cut inside defender Roberto Ayala, and with a clinical third touch flicked the ball over the head of goalkeeper Carlos Roa. “After the second touch I knew it couldn’t go wrong”, Bergkamp said.

#1 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer vs Bayern Munich, 1999 Champions League Final

United celebrate the last-minute goal as the Bayern Munich players are crestfallen

This has to go down as the mother of all comebacks, and it is these precious four minutes that every United fan recalls in times of trouble. Referee Pierluigi Collina cites the match as his most memorable, due to the ‘lion’s roar’ that was sounded from one end of the stadium after the winning goal.

Manchester United had won the English Premier League and the FA Cup earlier in the month, and were aiming for a Champions League title after 31 years to complete a historic treble. Mario Basler’s early free kick had given Bayern Munich the upper hand early in the match, and United could find no way back for the rest of regulation time. With ten minutes remaining, Alex Ferguson made a substitution – a magical move the likes of which Sir Alex built his reputation around. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came on hoping to make an impact, and the impact he went on to make has since put him up on the pedestal of last-minute goalscorers.

Another substitute, Teddy Sheringham, directed a corner towards goal to equalize in the first minute of injury time. A dumbfounded Bayern side got proceedings underway again, but the ball was stolen from them straightaway and Solskjaer’s running down the left side won his team a corner. The resultant corner kick fell into the path of the Norwegian striker who slammed the ball into the roof of the net, sparking wild celebrations at one end of Camp Nou and in the streets of Manchester.

Overwhelmed with despair, the whole Bayern team looked to have no desire to restart the game, and required coaxing from the referee to get up on their feet so that the action could be started again. Strange things have happened in Europe’s biggest club competition, but none as sensational as this double-goal salvo in the last seconds of the biggest matchday in the year.