Champions League games of the 2021/22 season – ranked
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What an outrageously mental UEFA Champions League season.
It had everything.
Incredible comebacks, huge upsets, a Paris Saint-Germain implosion. Everything.
This ranking of the 10 best games of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League season is brought to you by 90min’s ‚Football Tackles‘ charity of the week: KLABU.
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Yep, this game happened this season.
With Real Madrid crowned champions of Europe again, this result seems even more shocking now than it did last September. Which is saying a lot, because my god was this a shocker.
A good result for Man Utd during the 2021/22 season?
Believe it or not, that actually happened.
Basically every Atalanta match in the last five years has been quite a fun affair, and this was no exception.
Taking a two-goal lead in the first half, La Dea would succumb to a spirited (2021/22 Man Utd and ’spirited‘ rarely went together) Man Utd comeback, with Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo getting the goals.
A nine-goal thriller.
They don’t come around very often.
Man City had six different goalscorers in this game alone, while highly-rated Christopher Nkunku scored all three of Leipzig’s goals.
Two teams with a combined 13 Champions League/European Cups between them, Liverpool vs AC Milan certainly lived up to its billing in September.
In front of a raucous Anfield crowd, Liverpool saw off the eventual Serie A champions thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Jordan Henderson and an own goal from Fikayo Tomori.
Another ‚that was this season?!‘ game.
Pre-Xavi Barcelona was not a pretty sight at the start of the 2021/22 campaign, and this was probably that team’s lowest point – losing 3-0 to Benfica at the Camp Nou.
Not a great look.
Spoiler for the rest of this list: Real Madrid’s knockout round games feature quite heavily.
After an incredible 4-3 win at the Etihad (more on that later), Man City were heavy favourites to reach their second consecutive Champions League final going into this semi-final second leg.
By the 75th minute they were even heavier favourites when Riyad Mahrez scored what everyone thought was a decisive goal.
Then all hell broke lose.
Rodrygo scored two goals in the 90th and 91st minutes to send the game to extra time, and then Karim Benzema (who else?) scored a penalty to send Los Blancos to the final.
Well…this was a shock.
No-one expected Juventus to win the UEFA Champions League this season, but after being drawn against Villarreal in the round of 16, everyone expected them to a least make the quarter-finals.
That didn’t happen.
Instead they drew with Villarreal in Spain before being put to the sword in Turin.
One of Chelsea’s best performances under Thomas Tuchel just wasn’t enough against a Real Madrid team seemingly destined to win the Champions League this season.
The Blues needed a big win and thought they’d got it in the 75th minute when Timo Werner but Chelsea 4-3 up on aggregate.
It wasn’t to be, however, as a late Rodrygo goal was followed up by Benzema in extra time to send Real Madrid through.
Los Blancos didn’t look like Champions League title contenders at all throughout the group stages. They were, well, rather terrible.
In this round of 16 second leg game, they sparked into life.
Having gone two goals down on aggregate, Madrid rallied in historic fashion, with Benzema scoring a 17 minute hat-trick to win the game and the tie.
This game really had everything.
Goals, drama, and above all else: the highest quality football played anywhere in Europe over the last 12 months.
Man City would run out dramatic 4-3 winners on the night, but it would be Real Madrid who’d win the tie over two legs and eventually go on to lift their 14th European Cup.