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4-4 draw
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It is a result that has only happened four times in UEFA Champions League history. On Tuesday, Juventus overcame a two-goal deficit to secure a 4-4 draw at home against Borussia Dortmund. First, Dušan Vlahović scored his second of the night (90+3’) to make it 3-4, and then deep into extra time, Llyod Kelly scored the equalizer (90+6’) to make it 4-4.
The last time there was a 4-4 draw in the Champions League was almost six years ago. Chelsea and Ajax managed the result on Nov. 5, 2019. Four years before that, Bayer Leverkusen and Roma battled to a 4-4 draw on Oct. 20, 2015. Prior to that, Chelsea and Liverpool managed a 4-4 draw in the second leg of the competition's 2008/09 quarterfinals. The result meant that Chelsea advanced 7-5 on aggregate.
Juventus have been involved in a mad game like this before. Back on Sep. 13, 2000, Juve scored late to equalize a 4-3 deficit at the Volksparkstadion. Indeed, that particular game will loom large in the memory of Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac. Kovac, at the time, played for Hamburger SV and scored what many thought was the winner, giving HSV the 4-3 lead in the 82nd minute. It would explain the slight smile on Kovac’s face following the madness in Turin on Tuesday night.
Eight goals in 45 minutes – Juventus and Dortmund equal record set by Bayern Munich and Dinamo Zagreb
What sets tonight’s result apart from the other four 4-4 draws is that all eight goals were scored in the second half. Indeed, after the first 45 minutes, absolutely nothing indicated that we would be part of an eight-goal thriller tonight. But within eight minutes of the second half kickoff, the goals kept coming. First, Karim Adeyemi (53’) made it 1-0, only for Kenan Yildiz to respond with an incredible goal (63’). One minute later, Felix Nmecha made it 2-1. Then Vlahović scored his first to make it 2-2 (68’) before Dortmund scored thanks to Yann Couto (74’) and Ramy Bensebaini (86’ pen.).
The game seemed to be over at that stage. Until Vlahović and Kelly made it 4-4. That’s eight goals in 45 minutes, an absolute rarity in Champions League football. It is only the second time in the competition’s history that there have been eight goals in a single half. But we don’t have to go back far for the last time for it to happen. Last year, Bayern Munich managed to score eight in one half. But that result was a bit more one-sided, with Bayern winning the game 9-2.
