Sporting Becomes Fifth Team in UCL History to Come Back from Three-Goal Deficit

Sporting Lisbon has become the fifth team in Champions League history to overcome a three-goal deficit in a knockout stage match.

The Portuguese champions defeated Bodo/Glimt with a 5-0 victory after extra time in Lisbon on Tuesday night, ending the Norwegian team’s impressive run in the tournament.

Sporting lost the first match 3-0 on Bodo’s artificial turf, but in the second leg, goals from Goncalo Inacio, Pedro Goncalves, and Luis Suarez pushed the game into extra time. Maximiliano Araujo and Rafael Nel scored to ensure progression.

This win gave Sporting a 5-3 aggregate victory and set up a quarter-final match against Arsenal.

Sporting’s achievement marks only the fifth time a team has recovered from a three or more goal deficit in the Champions League knockout stages.

The first to achieve this was Deportivo La Coruna, who overturned a 4-1 first-leg defeat to AC Milan in the 2003-04 season, winning 4-0 in the return leg.

Barcelona holds the record for the largest comeback, recovering from a four-goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2016-17 campaign. They lost 4-0 in the first leg but came back to win 6-1 at Camp Nou, scoring three goals in the final minutes.

However, Barcelona has also faced similar comebacks. In 2017-18 and 2018-19, they lost to AS Roma and Liverpool after leading in the first leg by three goals.

Teams in Champions League history that overturned a three-goal deficit in knockout ties.

Deportivo La Coruna vs AC Milan – 2003/04

• First leg: AC Milan 4-1 Deportivo La Coruna
• Second leg: Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 AC Milan

Barcelona vs PSG – 2016-17

• First leg: PSG 4-0 Barcelona
• Second leg: Barcelona 6-1 PSG

AS Roma vs Barcelona – 2017-18

• First leg: Barcelona 4-1 AS Roma
• Second leg: AS Roma 3-0 Barcelona (Roma wins on away goals)

Liverpool vs Barcelona – 2018-19

• First leg: Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool
• Second leg: Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Sporting CP vs Bodo/Glimt – 2025-26

• First leg: Bodo/Glimt 3-0 Sporting
• Second leg: Sporting 5-0 Bodo/Glimt (AET)

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