Although Europe's top club competition can produce some incredibly competitive match-ups, it is not immune from one-sided encounters
The Champions League loves to present itself as the pinnacle of sporting competition in the club game. And while it often does create some of the most intense sport on the planet, it has also thrown up some pretty unbalanced affairs.
Things weren't always this way, but the widening financial chasm between the haves and have-nots in European football means blowouts have become increasingly common in the 21st century.
GOAL takes a look at the biggest Champions League victories – or losses, depending on your perspective – of all time…
Getty14Manchester City 7-0 RB Leipzig (March 14, 2023)
Drubbings in the group stages are somewhat understandable, given the gulf in class that often exists between some teams. However, one would expect that a blowout could never happen in the round of 16?
Manchester City defied this logic in 2023, putting RB Leipzig to the sword in the second leg of the pair's knockout tie.
The reverse fixture ended 1-1, and before kick off there were even whispers that the Bundesliga side could complete an unlikely upset. Two goals in 78 seconds from Erling Haaland ended those foolish notions, with the Norwegian netting three more times before being hooked in the second half.
Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne also converted to complete a famous rout.
AdvertisementGetty Images13Manchester City 7-0 Schalke (March 12, 2019)
Considering their struggles during the 2020s, it is hard to believe that Schalke were in the Champions League as recently as 2019.
Fans of Die Knappen will likely want to forget it too, as they were handed a spanking by Man City – again in the round of 16. Six different scorers compounded Schalke's misery, with Sergio Aguero grabbing a brace and Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus also getting on the scoresheet.
The German side have not returned to European competition in any capacity since that disastrous night in Manchester.
Getty Images12Liverpool 7-0 Spartak Moscow (December 6, 2017)
This was the season when Liverpool finally arrived under Jurgen Klopp, and their dominant victory over Spartak Moscow in the Champions League group stages offered a hint of the things to come.
Philippe Coutinho was the standout performer, helping himself to a hat-trick, while Sadio Mane registered a brace. Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah netted, too.
Getty Images11Maribor 0-7 Liverpool (October 17, 2017)
Just weeks before they tore Spartak Moscow apart, the Reds also humiliated Maribor in the Champions League.
This 7-0 victory was even more impressive in some ways, as Liverpool were away from home – it remains the biggest win ever recorded by an English team on the road in Europe.
Again, the goalscoring was shared around. Firmino and Salah each grabbed two, while Coutinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Trent Alexander-Arnold added gloss to the scoreline.
After the game, Klopp was understandably delighted, telling reporters: "I was told about the record after the game and I didn't know. The wonderful history of this club can feel like a backpack at times, so it is nice to write our own good piece of the history. It will be difficult to beat that record."
