After Manchester United's 3-1 Win At Arsenal We Remember Some Classic Smash And Grab Wins

After Manchester United's 3-1 Win At Arsenal We Remember Some Classic Smash And Grab Wins
14:11, 03 Dec 2017

Manchester United secured a 3-1 victory at Arsenal on Saturday evening, despite mustering just four shots on target and 24.9% possession, in what was an entertaining smash and grab win.

Here, we take a look back at some of the best victories where a team has been dominated, yet comes away with victory since the turn of the millennium…

Chelsea vs Barcelona, Champions League, 2012

Over both legs, Chelsea were outplayed by their Spanish counterparts, having four shots on target to Barcelona’s 12, yet secured a 3-2 aggregate win to book their place in the Champions League final, a competition they would famously go on to win. After sacking Andre Villas-Boas on the back of a 3-1 defeat in Napoli earlier in the year, Roberto Di Matteo oversaw European triumph in the most unlikely of circumstances.

At the interval at Camp Nou, Chelsea were 2-0 down and reduced to 10-men following John Terry’s dismissal and destined for a semi-final exit. The Blues, though, drew level on aggregate in the opening moments of the second half courtesy of a sumptuous Ramires lob. Lionel Messi then missed from 12-yards and it seemed a matter of when, not if, Barcelona would retake the lead. That moment never came, however, and despite a one-man advantage and setting up camp in Chelsea’s 18-yard box, it was the Premier League side who scored next through Fernando Torres, made famous by Gary Neville’s best impression of falling off a cliff.

Liverpool vs AC Milan, Champions League, 2005

AC Milan’s team at the time was considered one of, if the, best in Europe. Theres was an XI that contained Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko, to name five, and the Serie A giants were the overwhelming favourites ahead of the final in Istanbul. Indeed, they made their superiority count in the first half and were 3-0 up at the interval. Maldini netted in the opening minute before Hernan Crespo added two more before the break.

Liverpool looked deflated, yet an inspired half time substitution by Rafa Benitez - Didi Hamman replaced Steve Finnan - turned the tie completely on its head. For six of the 120 minutes of action, the Reds were the better team and drew level through Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso and ultimately held out to secure Champions League glory. To this day, the Miracle of Istanbul is widely considered one of the Champions League’s greatest ever finals since its 1992 inception and was a smash and grab victory that secured Europe’s top prize.

Burnley vs Lincoln, FA Cup, 2017

There is little better in the FA Cup then a giant killing and Lincoln provided just that in February this year. The then non-league side had battled valiantly to the 5th round of the competition, dispatching of Championship pair Ipswich and Brighton along the way. However, a trip to Burnley was considered to be a bridge too far for the Imps. Sean Dyche’s side were a respectable 12th in the Premier League at the time and were overwhelming favourites to overcome Lincoln and secure a spot in the next round of the FA Cup.

If there was a script, though, Lincoln read it, threw it on the ground and set it on fire. Danny Cowley’s side were on the backfoot for chunks of the game, yet defended astutely to come away with a 1-0 win as Sean Raggett’s late header secured victory. Burnley mustered 17 shots to Lincoln’s five, with five of the hosts shots hitting the target, yet failed to break down the Imps’ resolve. Victory for Lincoln meant they became the first non-league side to reach quarter-finals of the FA Cup for 103 years and while they were dismantled by eventual winners Arsenal in the next round, the win over Burnley will live long in the memory of supporters.

Greece, Euro 2004

This wasn’t necessary a one-off match, but rather an entire tournament and Greece smash and grabbed their way to international success. Having been drawn in Group A alongside Portugal, Spain and Russia, few gave the Ethniki a chance of progressing to the knockout stage, let alone win the European Championship, yet Greece did just that as they defended resolutely, scored where required and then killed the game off on more than one occasion.

A 2-1 win over hosts Portugal in the first game of the competition dampened spirits in the country, but the early tournament upset served to boost A Seleção. Greece and the host nation met again in the final, yet Portugal again lost, this time to a second half Angelo Charisteas strike. Greece had just one shot on goal to Portugal’s 16 in their 1-0 final win, with their compact approach serving them well. All in all, they had 21 shots on target across all six games at Euro 2004, netting seven goals in the process, to land an unlikely European Championship.

Barcelona vs Rubin Kazan, Champions League, 2009

Back in 2009, Barcelona were one of the standout favourites to win the Champions League. Pep Guardiola had overseen continental success in his debut season at the Blaugrana helm, becoming the youngest manager to coach a Champions League winning team in the process, and the welcome of Rubin Kazan on the 20th of October was viewed as one of the more navigable games in their group. Yet, the Russian side sprung an early shock as Aleksandr Ryazantsev netted a superb long-range strike with just two minutes on the clock. 

Parity was restored early in the second half as Zlatan Ibrahimovic drew Barcelona level, only for Gokdeniz Karadeniz to score with 15 minutes to play to secure Rubin Kazan a 2-1 win. It’s still considered one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history, particularly as Barcelona battered their Russian counterparts for the 90 minutes having had 24 shots and 76% possession. In the grand scheme of things, the defeat meant little as Barcelona still topped their group before a semi-final exit at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s Inter, but Rubin Kazan’s shock victory made headlines and for good reason too.

Manchester City vs Bolton Wanderers, Premier League, 2005

When Sam Allardyce was at the Bolton helm during their time in the Premier League, the Trotters were one of the hardest teams to break down. Remaining compact before transitioning from defence to attack, and the onus on winning the second ball, Bolton claimed some unlikely scalps before Allardyce’s departure in 2007. Manchester City were not the team they are today back in September 2005, yet under the watchful eye of Stuart Pearce, they had enough about them to overcome Bolton at the time.

Indeed, they should have won at a canter having matched Bolton’s style of play and having struck the woodwork an astonishing five times, through Antoine Sibierski, Joey Barton, Kiki Musampa and Sun Jihai. Finnish star Jussi Jaaskelainen was also in superb form to keep the City offensive at bay and his excellent showing between the sticks paid off as Bolton snatched all three points in second half injury time as the late, great Gary Speed netted from the spot after Richard Dunne was penalised for handball. It’s one of the less remembered smash and grab victories, but a combination of good luck and fine goalkeeping saw Bolton earn an unlikely 1-0 win on the day.

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