The 11 biggest wins in the knockout stages of the Champions League

Arsenal’s recent 7-1 win over PSV in the Champions League’s last 16 broke numerous records. While it was the club’s biggest win in a European match since 1993, it was also the largest winning margin for an away side in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side scored three times in the opening half hour, before blitzing their Dutch opponents with early goals in the second half to all but kill the tie, with the Gunners heading into their second leg with a gargantuan lead.

But whose footsteps have they followed in? Here, we’ve delved into the archives to find the biggest Champions League wins in the knockout stages. Following Arsenal’s win in Eindhoven, there have now been 11 instances of a team winning a knockout game by six goals or more.

1

Bayern Munich 7-0 Basel

2011/12, round of 16

Among those tied for the biggest winning margin is Bayern Munich

, who feature five times on this list. They have won by seven goals in the knockout stages on two occasions, with the very first instance of this in Champions League history occurring in the last-16 stage in 2012.

Basel had claimed a shock first-leg victory in Switzerland thanks to a late Valentin Stocker goal, but that was brutally extinguished at the Allianz Arena three weeks later.

Mario Gomez scored four times as the Bavarians romped into the quarter-finals, with Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller also getting on the scoresheet.

2

Bayern Munich 7-0 Shakhtar Donetsk

2014/15, round of 16

Bayern were held to a goalless draw in Ukraine and were without a suspended Xabi Alonso for the second leg of this knockout tie, but that didn’t stop Shakhtar from being comprehensively beaten in Germany.

Defender Oleksandr Kucher was sent off after three minutes, and after Thomas Muller converted the subsequent penalty, there was only ever going to be one result.

Five more Bayern players got in on the act as Muller grabbed himself a brace, with Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery, Holger Badstuber, Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze all making full use of their numerical advantage.

3

Man City 7-0 Schalke

2018/19, round of 16

3-2 up from the first leg, Manchester City will have been fully expected to finish the job against a Schalke side that ended up finishing 14th in the German Bundesliga that season.

They fulfilled those expectations and then some, with goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann beaten seven times as City strolled into the quarter-finals.

Sergio Aguero’s penalty got the ball rolling, with City refusing to hold back as they secured a 10-2 aggregate victory.

4

Man City 7-0 RB Leipzig

2022/23, round of 16

A five-star performance from Erling Haaland was the key to this Man City rout against RB Leipzig, which secured the Citizens a quarter-final berth on the way to winning the tournament in 2022/23.

The tie had been in the balance prior to kick-off, as Josko Gvardiol’s equaliser against his future employers handed City a job to do to progress.

But Haaland’s 25-minute hat-trick put to bed any hopes of a Leipzig shock, and scored two more inside an hour of play before Kevin De Bruyne added a finishing touch late on.

5

PSG 7-0 Brest

2024/25, knockout play-off round

In the Champions League’s first knockout play-off round, PSG were handed a tie against surprise package Brest, who had followed up their 3rd-place finish in Ligue 1 with an impressive Champions League debut, placing 18th in the brand new league phase above the likes of Juventus and Manchester City.

But their fairytale run was to be short-lived after being torn apart by their domestic rivals, mercilessly refusing to let up after their 3-0 first-leg victory in Brest.

Seven different goalscorers got in on the act, including January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola.

6

Man Utd 7-1 Roma

2006/07, quarter-final

Manchester United had to overcome a 2-1 first-leg defeat by Roma at Old Trafford, but the result rarely looked in doubt.

Three goals in the opening 20 minutes left the Red Devils firmly in control, with Michael Carrick and Cristiano Ronaldo bagging braces.

Daniele De Rossi’s away goal was scant consolation as the Italian side were unceremoniously dispatched from the competition.

7

Bayern Munich 7-1 Sporting CP

2008/09, round of 16

Bayern Munich’s last-16 victory over Sporting CP in 2009 was a historic one, with their 12-1 aggregate scoreline a record winning margin in the Champions League.

Their first-leg 5-0 win away from home, which included two goals from Luca Toni, was just the second time a team had won so handsomely in the knockout rounds, following Lyon’s 7-2 win over Werder Bremen in 2005.

Despite their existing dominance on the scoreline, Bayern hammered Sporting once again at the Allianz Arena, with Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mark van Bommel, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Muller all profiting from the leakiest of defences.

8

Barcelona 7-1 Bayer Leverkusen

2011/12, round of 16

Barcelona were at their ruthless best in their last-16 knockout tie against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012, with Lionel Messi at the peak of his powers during a chastening night at Camp Nou for the visitors.

Already trailing 3-1 from the first leg, any hopes of a comeback were denied by Messi’s first-half double, while the magician was in no mood to stop there, bagging a hat-trick after the interval.

It meant Cristian Tello’s own brace was largely overshadowed by Messi’s five-goal haul, although the holders would eventually be knocked out in the semi-finals.

9

Barcelona 2-8 Bayern Munich

2019/20, quarter-final

Eight years on from their record Champions League victory, Barcelona were on the receiving end of a European thrashing for a change.

Played as a single knockout match as a result of the competition’s restructure following the pandemic, just one goal would have been enough for Bayern to progress at Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz.

In truth, Bayern never stopped once they had smelled blood, and despite being pegged back by David Alaba’s own goal just minutes after going in front, Hansi Flick’s side raced into a 4-1 half-time lead.

A repeat performance followed in the second, with a double from Barcelona loanee Philippe Coutinho adding insult to injury as Bayern inflicted one of the worst defeats in the Catalan giants’ history.

10

Bayern Munich 7-1 RB Salzburg

2021/22, round of 16

After a last-minute equaliser from Kingsley Coman saved Bayern from an embarrassing first-leg defeat, they didn’t exactly hold back once they welcomed RB Salzburg back to the Allianz Arena.

Robert Lewandowski scored the quickest Champions League hat-trick from kick-off after netting three times in the opening 23 minutes, with Serge Gnabry netting soon after to put the tie beyond any lingering doubt.

Thomas Muller got involved (again) with two goals of his own before Leroy Sane notched a seventh late on to put the cap on a miserable night for the Austrian outfit.

11

PSV 1-7 Arsenal

2024/25, round of 16

Lots of the build-up to Arsenal’s Champions League tie with PSV was centred on the Gunners’ lack of attacking threat, with Mikel Arteta’s side left without any of their senior attackers for a number of weeks.

But that barely mattered after they swept PSV aside, with Arsenal securing their biggest European victory away from home since beating Standard Liege 7-0 in 1993 in the Cup Winners’ Cup.

The Gunners’ 7-1 first-leg win – courtesy of goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori – is also the biggest away win in the history of the Champions League knockout stages.