The Champions League has provided some enthralling games throughout its history. However, some clashes have stood out because of the rarity of scores it has produced, eight-goal thrillers, but with neither side taking home all three points. We are talking about the rare 4-4 draws the tournament has witnessed, with all five of them coming after the turn of the century. These games have featured a different mix of emotions, drama, and pure entertainment, with goals scored at both ends. The sheer volume of strikes coming from vicious attacks and cracky defence from both sides has given this memorable goal-fest in a low-scoring sport and in a competition like this, a different taste. This thrilling stalemate not only became a fascinating experience for those attending the game but also for those hooked on television and other streaming platforms.
Here we look at all five highest-scoring draws played in the UEFA Champions League history:
1) Hamburger SV 4-4 Juventus (13 September 2000)
The first such 4-4 draws in the Champions League came at the dawn of the new millennium. The factor which made it more remarkable is that the eight-game thriller came in a game that it was least expected of. Hamburg hosted Italian powerhouse Juventus at Volksparkstadion with the latter the favourites to take full points from this opening group game. It looked like that when the Turin giants began strongly and got themselves on the scoresheet inside just six minutes through the club's present manager, Igor Tudor. The lead lasted just 11 minutes as Anthony Yeboah equalised, but Filippo Inzaghi popped up with his strike to restore their advantage before half-time.
Juventus looked to have sealed the deal when Inzaghi found the net again seven minutes after the break. Yet, Hamburg refused to back down and with the support of the electrifying home support, crawled back into the game with Mehdi Mahdavikia and Hans-Jörg Butt making the score 3-3. The hosts found themselves in dreamland when Niko Kovač thought he had completed an unbelievable comeback by scoring the supposed winner eight minutes from time. However, the lethal Inzaghi once again found the way to ripple the net, this time from the spot, to complete a resounding hat-trick and rescue a point for his side in the eight-goal thriller. It was a memorable encounter, but not the only one which will see goals pour.
2) Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool (14 April 2009)
In the early 2000s, a fierce rivalry developed between two Premier League giants, Chelsea and Liverpool, in the Champions League, peaking during the 2009-10 season. The Blues exposed the Reds at Anfield to claim a 3-1 win in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal tie with the advantage of three away goals in the now-defunct rule, giving them an early step to the semifinals. As a case, many thought the second leg would be a dead rubber as the deficit was too large to recover, but it was far from the truth. The Reds needed a make-or-break performance to stay in the competition and they strung up a chaotic evening at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool came out flying, knowing they needed to score three times without conceding to progress with going 2-0 up within half an hour and levelling the scores 3-3 on aggregate. Fabio Aurelio’s clever free-kick stunned Chelsea, which was doubled up by Xabi Alonso’s penalty, changing the mood of the tie at half-time. However, the momentum swung when Didier Drogba restored the Blues' advantage on aggregate just six minutes with a shot from a narrow angle that slipped through the hands of Pepe Reina. Alex then scored a smashing free-kick and Frank Lampard added to it in the 76th minute, which seemed to have the tie done and dusted.
Incredibly, the Reds did not let go of the fight and kept pushing even knowing they had the unthinkable work of scoring three goals to advance. So, when Lucas Leiva’s deflected effort and Dirk Kuyt's header landed in the back of the net, it sent shockwaves through Stamford Bridge as Liverpool were now on the track of a miraculous turnaround. However, there was one bit of twist remaining in the game as Liverpool's defence waned again with Lampard completing his brace in the 89th minute to make it 4-4 on the night and help Chelsea progress 7–5 on aggregate. It was heartbreak for the Reds, but it was the greatest quarterfinal spectacle of all time in the competition for the neutrals.
3) Bayer Leverkusen 4-4 Roma (October 20, 2015)
Another 4-4 draw was played six years later and it was again a fixture that few expected would burst into a goal fest. Both Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma were aiming for the second spot in the group behind favourites Barcelona to remain in contention for the knockout stages. The pair came in the third game hosted in the Bayer Arena, losing their previous encounter, making it a tie with far more stakes than previously anticipated. A quick brace from the Mexican star Javier Hernández, within just 20 minutes of the game, gave elation to the home side. Still, the Italian outfit refused to panic, as after the early storm, they composed themselves to go again.
Roma’s eternal legend, Danielle De Rossi, became the inspiration for his side to get back to the contest with his 10-minute brace to bring everything level at half-time. That motivated the Serie A club to start the second half on a better note and after Wojciech Szczęsny did a good job keeping out a then-young Julian Brandt, they took the lead for the first time with midfield dynamo Miralem Pjanić, having assisted De Rossi’s equaliser, scored directly from his trademark free-kick this time. Leverkusen suddenly looked lost and seemed to have compounded their misery when Iago Falque found the net in the 73rd minute of the game to make it 4-2 in favour of them.
Whether it was Roma’s complacency next or comeback spirit from Leverkusen, the German side got back into the contest when Kevin Kampl found the top corner through a sensational curler with just six minutes left on the clock. The Giallorossi were shaken and they couldn’t recover from it as Wendell’s low cross in the 86th minute found Admir Mehmedi, who slammed in an open net to end it 4-4 in the evening. The point, though, helped Roma as they won the reverse clash, which sealed the second spot eventually for a better head-to-head record, but this encounter remained in the highest order of entertaining eight-goal thrillers in the competition.
4) Chelsea 4-4 Ajax (November 5, 2019)
Two sides, Chelsea and Ajax, chasing the top spot in a three-way race with Valencia, met in a crucial encounter at Stamford Bridge in their fourth match of the competition and it became a spectacle like no other. The Blues, before winning their second Champions League title a season later in the Thomas Tuchel era, were managed by club legend Frank Lampard, while the Dutch champions were under coach Erik ten Hag, who oversaw the club’s stunning run to the semifinals in the prior campaign. An exciting game was on the horizon, but few would have expected the fixture to be flooded with goals. It all started inside just two minutes, with a wicked Hakim Ziyech’s free-kick was miscleared by Tammy Abraham which beat Kepa Arrizabalaga in the net to give Ajax the lead. The Moroccan would turn out to be a menace for Chelsea throughout the evening, as he would prove his credentials again later.
Lampard’s men, though, would be behind for just a few minutes as Jorginho slotted the equaliser from the spot after Christian Pulisic was fouled inside the box. However, Ajax unleashed a storm after that, carried by Ziyech, whose teasing ball inside the Blues box from another free-kick was headed in by Quincy Promes. The creator, who would join Chelsea in the following season, further created chaos with another of his dead-ball swings inside the Blues’ box that hit the upright and inadvertently hit Arrizabalaga’s face before entering the net as the Eredivisie giants coughed up a 3-1 lead at half-time. If that was not enough, Donny Van de Beek further extended the advantage ten minutes into the second half. Chelsea needed a response as they could not lose like this at home with the qualification to the last-16 stage on the line.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta provided that hope, coming at the far post to slot in Willian’s cross into the empty net past the hour mark. However, it was not until two successive events that opened the path for Chelsea’s turnaround. Daley Blind lost possession and fouled Abraham, but the referee waved play-on as the ball fell to Callum Hudson Odoi, who unleashed a shot that hit Joël Veltman in the box. A penalty was awarded to the Blues, but more drama ensued when the referee dismissed both Blind for the earlier foul and Veltman for the handball with second yellow cards in the space of just a minute. Jorginho converted his second penalty of the game, which opened the door for a dramatic equaliser. In the 74th minute, Willian’s corner was headed onto the crossbar by Kurt Zouma, but Reece James was on hand to score from the rebound to spark incredible scenes at Stamford Bridge in one of the greatest games to be played at the venue.
5) Juventus 4-4 Borussia Dortmund (17 September 2025)
The most recent eight-goal thriller came in the new League Phase format of the Champions League in the 1997 Champions League final rematch between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. Both sides were in their first full season under a new manager, who saved them from a disastrous campaign last time, so a spicy battle was on the cards as they met in Turin. However, the final score was something that hardly came into anyone’s mind regarding this fixture. The least that was expected was a close and gritty affair between the teams, cancelling each other out after both fielded a 3-4-2-1 formation. The first half was like that, with both coming close to scoring, although Juventus had the better of the chances. Yet, the visitors struck first against the run of play early in the second half, which began a mesmerising goal-fest.
After Maximilian Beier hit the post, latching onto a long pass, Karim Adeyemi scored a smashing opener in the 52nd minute, which was then overshadowed by Kenan Yildiz’s stunning equaliser past the hour mark. The affair turned into a pinball game with relentless attacks from both sides, making it a thrill not just for those present in the stadium but for the eyeballs around the world. Midfielder Felix Nmecha then got in on the act to restore Dortmund’s lead just 85 seconds later with a splendid goal. Still, they lost it again just two minutes later after second-half substitute Dusan Vlahovic was played through by Yildiz, finishing elegantly past Gregor Kobel. Stunningly, the four goals were scored within 15 minutes of each other. However, the game was far from done as more drama was in store as the clock entered the final 20 minutes.
The Black and Yellows restored their lead once again, just seven minutes after the second leveller from the hosts, with Yan Cuato slamming past Di Gregorio. Yildiz thought he had scored his second of the night, but Kobel brilliantly tipped his stinging shot onto the post. That gave the guests some confidence as they then found the net again when Ramy Bensabaini converted from the spot in the 86th minute. Almost everyone thought that to be the supposed winner, but this crazy encounter refused to settle down. In the third minute of stoppage time, Vlahovic poked home to complete his brace from fellow substitute Edon Zhegrova. Only minutes later, the Serbian became the provider as his swinging cross was headed in by Lloyd Kelly, marking a redemption arc after his earlier handball gave away the penalty. Juventus’s revival to make it 4-4 on the night made the game one of the most pulsating ones played in the League Phase.
