With Manchester City's comfortable 5-0 aggregate victory over Sporting Lisbon, it got us thinking about the biggest Champions League aggregate defeats.
The odd year you get a team that snake by the group stages. They might just be happy to make the knockout stages for the prize money alone.
On some occasions, you have dominant teams that are too good for their opposition. Many teams that feature on this list really hit their stride in these years.
So what are the 5 biggest Champions League aggregate deficits? Man City end up making the list.
5) Lyon v Werder Bremen
Season - 2004/2005
Champions League Stage - Last 16
Aggregate Score - 10 - 2
It truly was a golden era for Lyon. They were slap bang in the middle of seven Ligue 1 titles in a row. But Europe wasn't kind to them. They couldn't get past the quarter-finals and 2004/2005 was no exception. But in the Last 16, they put in a perfomrance for the history books. Former Arsenal man Sylvain Wiltord had four goals over the two legs, helped by the likes of Michel Essien, Juninho and Florent Malouda. Werder Bremen, on the other hand, had won their first Bundesliga title in eleven years heading into the competition, but it was far from a memorable outing for them in Europe. They'd make the Round of 16 the year after, conceding only four this time.
#OnThisDay in 2005, Juninho Pernambucano was doing Juninho Pernambucano things for Lyon against Werder Bremen. pic.twitter.com/6SeG32gxTe
— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) February 23, 2021
4) Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen
Season - 2011/2012
Champions League Stage - Last 16
Aggregate Score - 10 - 2
Barcelona were fresh off their fourth European triumph and a force to be reckoned with in Europe. It was the peak Xavi/Iniesta/Messi years with Pique and Puyol at the back. Leverkusen enjoyed their best Bundesliga position in nine years, which was back in 2001/2002 when they were Champions League runners-up. But they failed to replicate their European success in 2011, and Barcelona made them pay over two legs. The first was a 3-1 victory away from home. But Barcelona ran riot for the return leg at Nou Camp. Lionel Messi produced one of the finest displays in Champions League history with five goals in a 7-0 routing to sent Leverkusen packing.
Ten years ago today, Leo Messi went off against Bayer Leverkusen ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽
The first player in Champions League history to score FIVE in a single match 🐐
(via @ChampionsLeague)pic.twitter.com/tcevOmhs66— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 7, 2022
Watch every Champions League game for free here on the LiveScore app: balls.ie/livescore-app. Registered ROI users only. #ad
3) Bayern Munich v Arsenal
Season - 2016/2017
Champions League Stage - Last 16
Aggregate Score - 10 - 2
Arsenal fans won't want to remember their last Champions League appearance. Bayern Munich were on Bundesliga number four of ten-in-a-row (and counting) and provided stiff competition for any team in Europe. The Gunners had their best Premier League finish in eleven years finishing second heading into the competition. Munich provided one of the most consistently dominant displays in recent history, winning 5-1 in both legs, home and away. Surprisingly, Robert Lewandowski only scored two of the ten. Arjen Robben, Thiago and Arturo Vidal each scored braces over the two legs, with Laurent Koscielny sent off for good measure in the second game.
First leg: Bayern 5-1 Arsenal
Second leg: Arsenal 1-5 Bayern
On this day in 2017, Bayern handed Arsenal a 10-2 aggregate loss in the Champions League 😳
(via @ChampionsLeague)pic.twitter.com/sOsantzBbG— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 7, 2022
2) Man City v Schalke 04
Season - 2018/2019
Champions League Stage - Last 16
Aggregate Score - 10 - 2
Teams love a good 10-2 win on aggregate, it seems. We don't have to go too far down memory lane for this one, as Pep Guardiola's side did the treble three seasons ago. Man City were domestically dominant, but we all know how it has fared for them in the Champions League. Nonetheless, they've put in many an impressive performance over the past few years and 2018/2019 was the finest of the lot. Schalke had enjoyed a stunning rise from 10th to 2nd in the Bundesliga the year before, but they couldn't sustain their form. The Germans ran City close in the first leg as it ended 3-2 at home, but they fell apart in Manchester conceding to six different goal scorers.
Man. City produce a stunning #AwayDays win, handing Schalke their first #UCL home defeat since 2016! 😱 pic.twitter.com/8Qd4j5XMnz
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 21, 2019
1) Bayern Munich v Sporting Lisbon
Season - 2008/2009
Champions League Stage - Last 16
Aggregate Score - 12 - 1
No team has come within two goals of Bayern Munich's utterly dominant aggregate downing of Sporting in the Champions League in 2009. The German giants had endured a European drought of sorts since lifting the trophy in 2001, having not made it past the quarter finals since. Sporting were in the middle of four runner-up finishes in the Primeira Liga and had finished second in their group, but they couldn't have imagined what would come next. A 5-0 win away from home set the tone after the first leg. Bayern didn't let up in the return fixture at the Allianz Arena, ripping apart Sporting in a 7-1 drubbing and going down in the history books.
#OnThisDay in 2⃣0⃣0⃣9⃣
🌪️ @FranckRibery 🆚 Sporting ⚽️💪#UCL | @FCBayern | @FCBayernEN | @FCBayernUS pic.twitter.com/zE16VFtwQQ— UEFA.com DE (@UEFAcom_de) February 25, 2022
See Also: Defensive Howlers Lead To Spectacular PSG Collapse Against Real Madrid
