Nobody in world football has earned the moniker of ‘Comeback Kings’ quite like Real Madrid in the Champions League.
In their latest dramatic turnaround, los Blancos scored three goals in the final ten minutes of a league phase tie away at Roma to run out 3-4 winners at Stadio Olimpico.
Real Madrid have come from behind to win no fewer than 38 times since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1992.
We’ve picked out the most dramatic and important of those turnarounds as we document the frankly remarkable story of European football’s most decorated club simply refusing to be beaten.
2012/13: Group stage vs Manchester City
Deficit: 0-1 and 1-2
Final Score: Won 3-2
Manchester City and Real Madrid have since met each other several times in Champions League football, but the Citizens were given a taste of what was to come in their first ever meeting at the Bernabeu back in 2012.
City first took the lead in the 68th minute through Edin Dzeko and surely must’ve thought they’d won the game when Aleksandr Kolarov put them ahead again with a free-kick following Marcelo’s equaliser.
It wasn’t to be – Karim Benzema fired in Real’s first equaliser from the edge of the box on 88 minutes, before Cristiano Ronaldo completed the comeback in the final minute of normal time.
2012/13: Round of 16 vs Manchester United
Deficit: 0-1 and 1-2 on aggregate
Final Score: Won 3-2
And City weren’t the only Manchester-based team on the end of Real Madrid’s incredible resilience in that campaign as just a few months later, United were dumped out by the Spanish giants at Old Trafford.
United had led at the Bernabeu through Danny Welbeck before Ronaldo fired in an equaliser against his former club in the first leg. United found themselves in front again at Old Trafford when Sergio Ramos turned a low cross into his own net.
However, a red card for Red Devils winger Nani changed the momentum of the game. Luka Modric brought the visitors level with a stunning long-range strike before the inevitable Ronaldo winner.
2013/14: Final vs Atletico Madrid
Deficit: 0-1
Final Score: Won 4-1
La Decima. Real Madrid’s long wait for their 10th Champions League win finally came to an end in 2014 and it came in the most ridiculously Real circumstances imaginable against their cross-town rivals.
Atletico Madrid looked set to win their first ever Champions League against their arch enemy as Diego Godin’s first-half goal separated the teams for almost an hour in Lisbon before Sergio Ramos managed to level the scores deep into stoppage time.
From there, the outcome was inevitable. Gareth Bale headed los Vikingos ahead in extra-time before further goals from Marcelo and that man Ronaldo secured one of the most spirit-crushing final defeats imaginable for Atleti.
2015/16: Quarter-final vs Wolfsburg
Deficit: 0-2 on aggregate
Wolfsburg were no doubt in the proverbial dreamland back in 2016 as they led their first ever Champions League final by a 2-0 scoreline heading into the second leg after a victory in front of the home fans at Volkswagen Arena.
Step forward Cristiano Ronaldo. By the 18 minute mark in the second leg he had already drawn the game level. And of course he was the man to complete the turnaround and his hat-trick with a second half free-kick that somehow found a gap in die Wolfen’s wall.
Final Score: Won 3-2
2016/17: Group stage vs Sporting CP
Deficit: 0-1
Final Score: Won 2-1
This victory from behind against Sporting Lisbon is one that is noted more for the lateness of the goals than the importance or the depth of the comeback.
Bruno Cesar swept Sporting CP in front at the Bernabeu in the opening game of the 2016/17 Champions League campaign three minutes into the second half. It stayed that way until the final minute of normal time when another Ronaldo free-kick against another former club drew the scores level. With just five seconds of injury-time remaining, Alvaro Morata powered home the winner
2021/22: Round of 16 vs PSG
Deficit: 0-2 on aggregate
Final Score: Won 3-2
Before their relative dominance of the competition in recent years, PSG were known for possessing a real fragility in the Champions League. But when Kylian Mbappe side-footed home to send them 2-0 up on aggregate in the 2022 Round of 16, there was a real belief that the tide was turning.
But this time it was Karim Benzema’s turn to be the hero. The legendary striker hauled los Vikingos back into the game with a side-footed finish on the hour.
15 minutes later and the Frenchman’s deflected effort brought the hosts level on aggregate and just two minutes later he pounced on a loose ball in the box to fire home a dramatic winner with the outside of his foot for 2-3. There was no way back for PSG.
2021/22: Semi-final vs Manchester City
Deficit: 0-2, 1-3, 2-4 & 3-5 on aggregate
Final Score: Won 6-5
In one of the most topsy-turvy ties of recent years, Real Madrid found themselves down by two goals on no fewer than four occasions in the 2022 semi-final versus Manchester City and yet somehow they still managed to come out on top.
Kevin de Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus put the Citizens two goals up inside 11 minutes in the first leg at the Etihad. Despite a brace from Karim Benzema and a fine goal from Vinicius Junior, goals from Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden gave City a narrow lead heading to the Spanish capital.
Riyad Mahrez then extended City’s lead to two goals for the fourth time in the tie in the second-half at the Bernabeu, but that was never going to be enough to beat Real. Rodrygo scored in the final minute of normal time and the first minute of injury-time to send the game into extra-time, where Karim Benzema’s penalty finally won the game.
2022/23: Round of 16 vs Liverpool
This Round of 16 tie against Liverpool ended up being so one-sided it’s rarely remembered as one of Real Madrid’s major comebacks, but it’s easy to forget that they trailed twice at Anfield in the first-leg after early goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah.
By half-time, Vinicius Junior had brought los Blancos level with a brace. Karim Benzema got himself a brace in the second-half after Eder Militao put Real in front. The French striker got himself a third in the tie as Real cruised through with a 1-0 win on home soil.
Deficit: 0-2
Final Score: Won 6-2
2023/24: Group stage vs Napoli
Deficit: 0-1 and 1-2
Final Score: Won 3-2
By this point, Madrid’s ability to win points from increasingly impossible positions was almost becoming mythical and the 2023/24 group stage is perhaps the best example of that.
Not only did they twice come from behind to beat Napoli in Stadio San Paolo, they also came from behind against the Italian side at the Bernabeu after going a goal down within nine minutes. They also overturned a one goal deficit away to Union Berlin to win 3-2 having needed a last minute winner to beat the German side in their opening group stage game.
They finished the group stage with a perfect record of six wins from six, despite falling behind in three matches and going into injury-time level in another.
2023/24: Semi-final vs Bayern Munich
Deficit: 2-3 on aggregate
Final Score: Won 4-3
No team can be better set to win Champions League semi-finals than Real Madrid. In the 2024 semi-final versus Bayern Munich, Real actually lost their advantage in the first-leg as Vinicius’ early goal was cancelled out by Leroy Sane and Harry Kane. Vinicius’ late penalty kept the game level heading back to Madrid.
Bayern took the lead in the tie again when Alphonso Davies scored his first ever Champions League goal with a sweet strike in the second leg. When an equaliser was cancelled out after a VAR check, some may have thought Real Madrid’s luck may finally have ran out. They thought wrong.
On 87 minutes, a Manuel Neuer mistake was pounced on by the 34 year old Espanyol loanee Joselu. Incredibly, as the clock ticked into injury-time, the ex-Stoke City man was on hand to turn in Antonio Rudiger’s cross and send the Bernabeu into ecstacy.
2024/25: League phase vs Borussia Dortmund
Deficit: 0-2
Final Score: Won 5-2
There were more than murmurings of concern at the Bernabeu during a league phase clash against Borussia Dortmund in 2024 when the Bundesliga side raced into a 0-2 first-half lead thanks to goals from Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens. With Real having lost their previous outing against Lille, the table was starting to make for grim reading.
The scores were still level on 59 minutes – but by full-time, it had turned into another routine home victory. Rudiger kick-started the comeback before a goal from Lucas Vazquez supplemented a Vinicius a hat-trick as Real got their campaign back on track.
2024/25: Knock-out playoff vs Manchester City
Deficit: 0-1 and 1-2
Final Score: Won 6-3
It will have come as a shock to football fans everywhere when both Real Madrid and Manchester City found themselves needing to go through the play-off phase of the Champions League in 2024/25 having failed to earn a top eight spot in the league phase. To find themselves playing each other was even more of a surprise.
City took an early lead in the first-leg at the Etihad Stadium through Erling Haaland and the Norwegian restored that advantage from the penalty spot in the second-half after Kylian Mbappe had drawn the Spanish side level.
Late goals from former City player Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham saw Real take a first-leg lead back to their own stadium. A late Nico Gonzalez goal was scant consolation for City as an Mbappe hat-trick saw los Vikingos cruise through after twice going behind in Manchester.
2025/26: League phase vs Roma
Deficit: 1-3
Final Score: Won 4-3
Just the latest in a long line of mind-boggling Real Madrid comebacks! In a less than impressive display at Stadio Olimpico, Real found themselves trailing by a 3-1 scoreline with ten minutes of normal time remaining thanks to a Marten de Roon goal plus a brace from Donyell Malen.
Carlos Espi initiated the comeback on 83 minutes by pouncing on a rebound to finish from close-range. Endrick’s header brought Real level just two minutes later before Antonio Rudiger broke the hearts of his former club by turning in Arda Guler’s corner in the final minute of normal time.
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