The return leg didn't quite follow the same script, because the bar remains set by some gloriously chaotic predecessors – ties where control was optional and defending often an afterthought.

Here are the four highest-scoring two-legged semi-finals the competition has seen.

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Inter Milan 7-6 Barcelona (2024-25)

It still feels faintly ridiculous that a Champions League semi-final could produce 13 goals, but Inter and Barcelona managed it without ever looking embarrassed. The first leg at San Siro was breathless, the second at Montjuïc even more so, with Inter eventually prevailing after extra time in a tie that swung wildly between brilliance and brinkmanship.

Simone Inzaghi’s side rode the chaos rather than resisted it, embracing transitions and trusting their forwards to finish chances at a rate that bordered on unsustainable. Barcelona, meanwhile, attacked with typical abandon but paid the price for a defensive line that never quite settled.

Inter carried that momentum into the final, where the adrenaline finally wore off. They fell short in the final, soundly beaten by PSG, but their semi remains the modern benchmark for knockout mayhem.

Liverpool 7-6 AS Roma (2017-18)

Before Inter and Barcelona raised the bar, Liverpool and Roma had already turned the semi-final into a 13-goal spectacle. Jurgen Klopp’s side did most of the damage at Anfield, racing into a five-goal lead in the first leg before conceding twice late on – a wobble that hinted at what was to come in Rome.

The second leg was frantic and fraught, Roma pushing relentlessly and Liverpool hanging on just enough. It ended 7-6 on aggregate, though it never quite felt safe for the English side until the final whistle.

Liverpool’s reward was a place in the final against Real Madrid, where the chaos gave way to something crueller. Individual errors and a moment of outrageous quality from Gareth Bale saw them beaten, but their semi-final remains one of the competition’s most entertaining knife-edge ties.

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Real Madrid 6-5 Manchester City (2021-22)

This one had everything: nine goals across 180 minutes, then two more in extra time, and a narrative arc that bordered on the absurd. Manchester City led 4-3 after the first leg and still looked in control deep into the second, only for Real Madrid to produce one of their now trademark late revivals.

Two goals in the dying minutes at the Bernabeu forced extra time, where Madrid completed the turnaround. It was less a tactical triumph than an act of collective will, the latest chapter in a campaign built on improbable escapes.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side went on to win the final, beating Liverpool to secure another European crown. Of all the ties on this list, it is the only one where the chaos of the semi-final translated directly into ultimate success.

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Valencia 5-3 Barcelona (1999-2000)

The oldest entry on the list feels almost quaint by comparison, but eight goals in a semi-final at the turn of the millennium was no small feat. Valencia stunned Barcelona with a 4-1 first-leg victory at Mestalla, a performance built on ruthless counter-attacking and clinical finishing.

Barcelona responded in the second leg, winning 2-1, but the damage had already been done. Valencia’s control of the tie was never truly in doubt after that opening blitz.

They advanced to the final, brimming with confidence, only to run into Real Madrid and suffer a heavy defeat. Even so, their semi-final upset of Barcelona remains one of the defining results of that era.
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