United's comeback kings

By Patrick Hart

Manchester United FC will look to an old routine when they welcome Real Madrid CF to Old Trafford in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Victory quest
The two-times European champions have a history of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, although it will require another famous comeback if they are to overturn the 3-1 scoreline in Madrid's favour from the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Mountain to climb
Sir Alex Ferguson's men have the advantage, however, of having scaled peaks of similar proportions in the past, the foremost example being their Champions League semi-final triumph against Juventus FC four years ago. Following a 1-1 first-leg draw in Manchester, United's hopes looked forlorn when Filippo Inzaghi struck twice inside the first eleven minutes of the return match in Turin.

Defying the odds
Yet even without the injured Ryan Giggs, scorer of a late equaliser at Old Trafford, Ferguson's team summoned the strength to overcome the odds. Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke brought United level before half-time. Then, with six minutes remaining, Andy Cole tapped in the winner after Yorke had been brought down in the area. The rest would be history, along with FC Bayern München's chances of success in the Barcelona final.

Two-goal deficit
If that was a recovery to make Lazarus blanch, no less impressive was the Mancunians' come-from-behind win against Barcelona in the last eight of the 1984 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Ron Atkinson's side did not just face a two-goal deficit when hostilities resumed after their 2-0 first-leg defeat at Camp Nou; they were also up against a certain Diego Maradona.

Barcelona beaten
No matter. Bryan Robson brought United back into the tie with a diving header, then levelled the scores with a close-range finish soon after half-time. That set the stage for Norman Whiteside to tee up Frank Stapleton for a memorable winner at the Stretford End.

Madrid onslaught
United's efforts were ultimately in vain as they succumbed to Juventus in the next round. The same could not be said of the semi-final victory which prefaced their appearance in the 1968 European Champion Clubs' Cup final. Sir Matt Busby and company took a slender advantage to the Bernabéu for the second leg against Madrid. But George Best's solitary strike counted for little against the onslaught which sent the hosts into the interval with a 3-1 lead, 3-2 on aggregate.

Perfect reply
Somehow, though, Busby managed to revive his troops, and they responded with second-half goals from David Sadler and Bill Foulkes to reach their first final, against SL Benfica. United beat the Portuguese outfit 4-1 to become England's first European champions.

Holders ousted
It was against their country's first European trophy winners, Tottenham Hotspur FC, that the Red Devils achieved another great comeback. Holders Tottenham defeated United 2-0 in the first leg of their Cup Winners' Cup second-round tie in 1963/64, only to go down 4-1 at Old Trafford to two goals apiece from David Herd and Bobby Charlton.

Bouncing back
If all that is not warning enough to defending European champions Madrid, then the first example of United's irresistible spirit in continental competition came against Spanish opposition in Athletic Club Bilbao in the 1956/57 season. Trailing 5-3 from the first leg of their European Cup quarter-final at San Mamés, United bounced back to win 6-5 on aggregate with Dennis Viollet, Johnny Berry and Tommy Taylor all on target at Old Trafford.

Difficult reading
The postscript to that triumph makes less enjoyable reading for the English side, however: United then went and lost to Madrid in the semi-finals, beaten 3-1 in the Spanish capital before a 2-2 draw in Manchester.