Memorable Monday: First Leg European Cup Quarterfinal Deficits

FC Bayern vs Ajax (1972-73)

The first leg ended rather miserably for the Bavarians. Away in a town considered to be a footballing elite, Bayern was expected to lose. Yet, they did not just lose. They were embarrassed. The first leg seemed to be heading towards a goalless draw but Ajax sprang to life in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Arie Haan gave the Dutch side the lead. Within the next twenty minutes, Bayern were down by three goals as Gerrie Mühren scored and Haan added another. To add insult to injury, much like Cristiano Ronaldo did in last season's semifinals, the visionary Johan Cruyff added another in the 89th minute.

With nothing to their name and with a mountain to climb, the second half would always be an uphill battle. Within the first ten minutes of that match, Pieter Keizer added Ajax's fifth. Gerd Müller's efforts shortly afterward led to the first goal for Bayern in the tie. Whether Müller scored it is another question: Ruud Krol might have knocked the ball into his own net. Müller added Bayern's second before half time. But, at 5-2 down, the comeback was always going to be impossible. Ajax ran out 5-2 winners on aggregate.

FC Bayern vs Chelsea (2004-05)

This one was a rather interesting affair. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea had Bayern on the ropes in the first leg but the Bavarians did not leave without a few away goals. Joe Cole's early goal was canceled out by Bastian Schweinsteiger's strike in the 52nd minute. At that point, a draw seemed somewhat likely. But then, Frank Lampard scored two goals, within ten minutes of each other. Didier Drogba late goal seemed to have handed Chelsea the tie but Michael Ballack's penalty in the third minute of stoppage time saw the match finish 4-2. In truth, Chelsea were superior; They attempted fifteen shots to Bayern's seven for example.

The second leg in Munich began in a disappointing note as Lampard added Chelsea's fifth overall on the half hour mark. However, Claudio Pizarro equalized in the 65th minute. Didier Drogba unfortunately gave his side the lead again on the night and now, Chelsea were happy to sit on their aggregate advantage, until the ninetieth minute. A certain substitute by the name of Jose Paolo Guerrero equalized for Bayern in the 90th minute. And then, Mehmet Scholl, yet another substitute scored in the fifth minute of added time. They won the game 3-2 on the night but the comeback had come a little too late. FC Bayern were knocked out 5-6 on aggregate.

FC Bayern vs Barcelona (2008-09)

If a match was ever over in the first leg, it was this one. With little preparation and with a sizable injury list including a certain Miroslav Klose, Jürgen Klinsmann's men were really in trouble. Pep Guardiola's stylish and slick side quickly got rid of the Bavarians in the first forty five minutes. Lionel Messi struck two wonderful goals each side of a Samuel Eto'o goal (Eto'o would bother us more in latter seasons). Thierry Henry scored two minutes before half time.

Franck Ribery carved out a very good heading opportunity for Luca Toni in the second half but Toni missed the target. Barcelona were simply on a different class and went easy on Bayern in the remainder of the match. On the other hand, Guardiola found himself in the stands! Bayern tried to salvage some respect in the second leg; Ribery opened the scoring just after halftime but Seydou Keita did a good job of erasing that strike on the 73rd minute. The match at the Allianz finished 1-1 and Barcelona ran out 5-1 winners on aggregate.

***

Bayern does not lose too many first legs in quarterfinal action as can be seen. When they do, they usually concede four. In Porto, they conceded three. If they manage to overcome the deficit, they will erase an unwanted piece of history. It is time for Bayern to finally overturn a first leg deficit in the quarterfinals with a memorable win on Tuesday.