Liverpool's 'unfair' late show at PSG, Barcelona's 'Iniestazo' at Chelsea & the ten greatest heists in Champions League history

AC Milan lifted their sixth European Cup in 2002-03, and many expected Carlo Ancelotti's all-conquering side to retain their crown. However, their defence began in shaky fashion as they picked up only seven points from their opening four group games, and had to beat Ajax away on matchday five in order to be certain of progress to the next round.

Ajax would go on to give the Rossoneri an almighty scare, despite having to field a makeshift XI due to an injury crisis. Ronald Koeman's side took the game to Milan right from the off and created several good openings, including a close-range header for Nigel de Jong that he agonisingly turned over the crossbar.

Milan waited patiently for their moment, though, and it eventually came six minutes into the second half, as Andriy Shevchenko volleyed home the winning goal from six yards out, sending the Rossoneri through. All of Ajax's huffing and puffing counted for nothing in the end, much to the frustration of John Heitinga. "We have only ourselves to blame - one move and they score," the Dutch centre-back told reporters after the final whistle.

Barcelona were deserving European champions in 2008-09, but few would deny they were given a major helping hand in the semi-finals by Danish referee Tom Henning Ovrebo. Chelsea were denied four penalties by Ovrebo in the second leg at Stamford Bridge after taking an early lead through Michael Essien, which set the stage for a heart-breaking sucker-punch.

Barca finally mustered their first shot on target in the 93rd minute, and it was a corker, as Andres Iniesta's sublime first-time shot with the outside of his boot rocketed past helpless Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario, sparking delirium for Pep Guardiola's team, who advanced to the final on away goals.

Didier Drogba famously roared "It's a f*cking disgrace!" into the TV cameras at full-time and had to be restrained as tempers boiled over. But no one on the Barca bench cared. Christened 'El Iniestazo' by Culers across Catalunya, Barca's smash-and-grab victory at the Bridge was a testament to the wealth of genius-level talent in their squad, which ensured they were never out of any game.

On the opening night of the 2010-11 Champions League, Spartak Moscow pulled off a remarkable feat: winning a game without having a single shot on target. Marseille laid siege to the Spartak goal, raining down a total of 27 shots as the likes of Mathieu Valbuena and Andre Ayew flexed their impressive attacking muscles.

Goalkeeper Andriy Dykan was the hero for Spartak as he produced seven saves, while fortune also smiled on the visitors when Andre-Pierre Gignac struck the post in stoppage time. Incredibly, Spartak left Stade Velodrome with all three points courtesy of an 81st-minute own goal from Cesar Azpilicueta.

The ex-Chelsea captain was left with his head in his hands after deflecting a cross past Steve Mandanda as the French giants were made to pay the ultimate price for their profligacy. "It's the worst scenario. We played Russian roulette and we lost," crestfallen Marseille boss Didier Deschamps admitted to the media.

Inter regularly upset the odds on their way to Champions League glory in 2009-10, but were on the receiving end of a major shock when they faced Turkish outfit Trabzonspor in their group-stage opener two seasons later. It was a predictably one-sided affair, with Giampaolo Pazzini, Mauro Zarate and Wesley Sneijder all guilty of spurning several gilt-edged chances as Inter camped in enemy territory and put the ball into Trabzonspor's box at will.

It was something of a miracle that the visitors were still on level terms heading into the final 15 minutes, and they were then able to conjure up a sucker punch to stun the capacity San Siro crowd. Ondrej Celustka steered the ball into the net after Inter failed to clear a corner, with Trabzonspor subsequently able to survive a late onslaught to secure a memorable victory.

Inter were lambasted by the Italian media, but as Trabzonspor boss Senol Gunes shrewdly observed in his post-match press conference, "It's not enough just to have great players like (Esteban) Cambiasso, Pazzini and Sneijder, anything can happen on the pitch."

Chelsea's crop of 2011-12 are widely considered to be the worst Champions League winners in history. They were not short on team spirit, though, with Roberto Di Matteo galvanising the confidence-stricken Blues as caretaker manager after Andre Villas-Boas' sacking in March.

Di Matteo steered Chelsea past Napoli and Benfica in impressive fashion, but no one gave them a prayer against a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona in the semi-finals. Indeed, the gulf in quality between the two teams was evident in the first leg of the tie at Stamford Bridge as Barca enjoyed 72 percent of the possession while registering 24 shots to Chelsea's four.

Amazingly, though, Chelsea were able to hold firm and take a lead back to Camp Nou. Didier Drogba clinched a 1-0 victory when he swept a low Ramires cross into the far corner in first-half stoppage time, capping a brilliant counter-attack that began with Messi being dispossessed.

Fortune smiled on Di Matteo's side again in the second leg as they battled to a 2-2 draw to make the final, despite playing more than two-thirds of the game with 10 men after a red card for John Terry, but it was their initial gutsy display at the Bridge that gave Chelsea the belief they could conquer the Catalan giants.

Jupp Heynckes' treble-winning Bayern team were almost flawless in the Champions League knockout phase, with Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona all swept aside easily before their final victory over domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund. They took a while to get going, though, losing 3-1 to unfancied BATE Borisov in the group stage to set up a must-win game against Lille at Stade Pierre Mauroy.

A Thomas Muller penalty gave Bayern the perfect start on French soil, but the floodgates did not open thereafter. Lille actually moved into the ascendency, with Nolan Roux and Tulio De Melo both coming close to levelling the scoreline as Bayern went into retreat.

Lille continued to press forward in the second half and substitute Ryan Mendes was presented with a glorious opportunity in the box late on, but Bayern managed to get bodies in front of his shot and the ball deflected away from danger. The German giants held on for the points, but Heynckes slammed his "mediocre" team after the game and credited Lille for their fearless approach. The tough love ultimately served as the wake-up call that sparked Bayern's remarkable run to the title.

Dortmund were the top scorers in the 2016-17 Champions League group stage, but could find no way past Benfica goalkeeper Ederson in the first leg of their last-16 tie at Estadio Da Luz. The Brazilian star, who has since gone on to win the competition with Manchester City, made a string of key saves, including to keep out a penalty from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gabonese frontman also blazed over when played through one-on-one with Ederson as Dortmund persistently carved open the hosts' defence, but against the run of play, Kostas Mitroglou prodded Benfica in front with their only shot on target three minutes into the second half after a goalmouth scramble, and Thomas Tuchel's side couldn't find a way back into the game.

Most of the blame was laid at the door of Aubemeyang, and Tuchel did little to shield the striker either. "Aubameyang is not fully fit after the African Cup of Nations and his body language did not suggest that he would do better after missing the penalty," he declared in front of the media. The former Arsenal man redeemed himself in the second leg, though, scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 rout that proved Benfica just got very lucky in front of their own fans.

Benfica and Ajax played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first leg of their last-16 encounter in 2021-22 as both teams seemingly took it in turns to pepper shots at the opponent's goal. It was all Ajax in the second leg, though, as Erik ten Hag's men took ownership of the ball and fired in 16 shots, four times more than Benfica.

Ajax's best chances fell to Antony, who hit the bar and came inches from scoring with a towering header, and at times it felt like Benfica were clinging on for dear life. The Portuguese giants won a rare free-kick on the far side of the box in the 76th minute, though, and Alejandro Grimaldo whipped it into the mixer with real venom for Darwin Nunez to rise above the flapping Ajax 'keeper Andre Onana and glance the ball home.

Benfica would wrap up the 1-0 victory courtesy of their only effort on target as Ajax lost because of a moment of madness from Onana, something Manchester United fans are now all too accustomed to, and club captain Dusan Tadic was understandably furious as he ranted to reporters pitchside: “We were the better team today. Benfica did nothing, except for one free-kick. We wanted to dominate, and we did, but then in one moment... Unbelievable.”

The majority of Real Madrid's 16 Champions League triumphs have been fully deserved, but their 2021-22 final win over Liverpool was little more than a smash-and-grab. Carlo Ancelotti's troops mustered only three shots to Liverpool's 23, with just one of those hitting the target: Vinicius Jr's 59th-minute winning goal.

Even the decisive moment of the game had an element of fortune about it, as Fede Valverde's cross for Vinicius looked suspiciously like a mis-hit shot, which just so happened to find the Brazilian to tap in from a couple of yards out.

Liverpool, meanwhile, would have won the trophy had they shown any kind of ruthlessness in the final third. As it was, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah wasted the Reds' best openings, while Thibaut Courtois produced a Player-of-the-Match display in the Real net. It was an ugly win for Madrid on an ugly night marred by crowd issues outside the Stade de France, but it was just another example of the Spanish giants being way more streetwise and clinical than anyone else in Europe's most prestigious competition.

"Football can be unfair at times." Luis Enrique summed up the mood of Paris Saint-Germain supporters across France when assessing his team's extraordinary 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on March 5. The Spaniard also claimed PSG were "far superior" to their English opponents in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, which even the most die-hard Liverpool fan would struggle to argue with.

PSG's final tally of 27 shots was the second-most of any team that has failed to score and lost in the Champions League since 2003-04. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele shared 13 between them as they terrorised the Liverpool backline, particularly in the first half, and had it not been for Alisson Becker's presence between the sticks, Arne Slot's side could have lost by a record scoreline.

Alisson was forced to make nine saves, including a superhuman reaction stop to palm away a deflected Kvaratskhelia shot at his near post. A 0-0 draw would have been embarrassing enough for PSG considering their dominance, but Liverpool snatched the win just three minutes from time as substitute Harvey Elliot placed a first-time shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma after being teed up by Darwin Nunez on the counter.

That was Liverpool's only shot on target as they pulled off a robbery for the ages, which even Slot acknowledged. “We are the lucky ones tonight, that’s clear for everyone. They were the much better team," the Dutchman admitted.