The Champions League’s Greatest Shocks
 

This week’s fixtures carry the whiff of something extraordinary. FC Kairat of Kazakhstan host 15-time winners Real Madrid, while Cypriot debutants Pafos welcome Bayern Munich. Should either underdog prevail, they’ll instantly join the pantheon of Champions League giant-killings.

Here are five of the biggest shock results in the competition’s history:

Maccabi Haifa 3-0 Manchester United (2002/03)

United had crushed Haifa 5-2 at Old Trafford and even a rotated squad in Israel featured Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and both Nevilles. But the return was a nightmare. Yaniv Katan struck before half-time, Raimondas Zutautas doubled the lead, and Yakubu Ayegbeni sealed it from the spot. A famous, unforgettable night for Maccabi.

Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan (2009/10)

Guardiola’s treble-winning Barcelona were near-invincible at Camp Nou—until Rubin Kazan arrived. Aleksandr Ryazantsev’s rocket stunned the crowd after just two minutes. Zlatan Ibrahimović briefly levelled, but Gökdeniz Karadeniz hit the winner that earned the Russians eternal folklore.

Inter Milan 2-5 Schalke (2010/11)

The holders were expected to cruise past struggling Schalke, especially after Dejan Stanković’s outrageous volley inside 25 seconds. Instead, Ralf Rangnick’s men tore Inter apart. Joel Matip, Raul, Edu (twice), and an own goal buried the Italians. Schalke sealed the tie 7-3 on aggregate—one of the great quarter-final upsets.

Celtic 2-1 Barcelona (2012/13)

Celtic had just 16% possession, yet stunned Guardiola’s Barcelona with the ultimate smash-and-grab. Victor Wanyama’s header gave them the lead, Tony Watt added a breakaway second, and even Lionel Messi’s late strike couldn’t spoil the party. Parkhead shook that night.

Real Madrid 1-2 Sheriff Tiraspol (2021/22)

The eventual champions of Europe suffered a group-stage embarrassment at the Bernabéu. Sheriff, debutants from Moldova’s league but based in the breakaway region of Transnistria, produced the shock of shocks. Sebastien Thill’s thunderbolt in the 90th minute silenced Madrid and lit up the competition.