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Sky Sports look at some of the greatest comebacks in sporting history

From Barca to Brady, we look at some mind-boggling comebacks of epic proportions

England's Mark Selby kisses the trophy after beating Scotland's John Higgins in the World Championship Snooker final at The Crucible in Sheffield

Mark Selby pulled off one of the most astonishing victories in a Crucible final as he landed his third World Championship title, but is it the best in sporting history?

When the 'Jester from Leicester' trailed John Higgins by 10-4 on Sunday evening, Selby had looked beaten, on the scoreboard and in his cheerless demeanour, but a colossal comeback saw him roll to an 18-15 victory.

Victory made him just the fourth player to successfully defend a world title in Sheffield, after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Selby: Comeback felt impossible
Selby: Comeback felt impossible

Mark Selby feared World Championship had gone before Crucible comeback

No player had come back to win from a greater deficit than six frames in a World Championship final since Dennis Taylor trailed Steve Davis by 8-0 and 9-1 in their 1985 classic, but there's more of that later...

Barca make the impossible possible?

Sergi Roberto celebrates after his late goal sends Barcelona through to the Champions League quarter-final

Barcelona pulled off the biggest Champions League comeback ever to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year.

Faced with a 4-0 deficit following the first leg in Paris, Barca won the second leg 6-1 on Wednesday with three of the goals coming from the 88th minute onwards.

Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar (twice) were all among the goals but it took a stabbed finish from Sergi Roberto in the 95th minute to pull off the impossible at the Nou Camp.

Also See:

Sergi Roberto of Barcelona (20) celebrates as he scores their sixth goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg v PSG

No team has ever come from four goals down after the first leg of a European Cup tie - is it the best comeback of all time?

Brady's Super Bowl stunner

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons

"We saw it in the Super Bowl, what is possible in sport," said Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic afterwards, and indeed we did. The New England Patriots became Super Bowl champions once again in February by fighting back from 25 points behind to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime.

In an extraordinary finale to the most challenging season of his career, Tom Brady inspired the Patriots and confirmed his right to be regarded as the best quarterback the sport has ever seen with a fifth Super Bowl crown.

Patriots win Super Bowl thriller
Patriots win Super Bowl thriller

Super Bowl LI: New England Patriots 34-28 Atlanta Falcons

Brady rallied the Patriots brilliantly to overturn a 28-3 third quarter deficit, completing a thrilling win on a night of improbable drama at Houston's NRG Stadium,

The miracle of Istanbul

Liverpool's captain Steven Gerrard holds the throphy surrounded by teammates at the end of the UEFA Champions league football final

A night Liverpool fans will never forget. Rafa Benitez's side were given a footballing lesson by AC Milan in the first half of the 2005 Champions League final. Trailing 3-0 at the break and looking like being on the wrong end of a hiding, the tide turned in the second half. Captain Steven Gerrard inspired an amazing burst of three goals in six minutes to force extra time - and then penalties when goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek performed some spaghetti-legged magic to help Liverpool conquer Europe for a fifth time.

Miracle of Medinah

The European Ryder Cup team celebrate with the trophy after the Singles Matches for The 39th Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club

Another miracle - this time in golf's Ryder Cup in 2012. Jose Maria Olazabal's Europeans looked dead and buried in Chicago when they trailed the Americans 10-4 going into Sunday's singles. Summoning up the spirit of Seve Ballesteros, though, they silenced the partisan crowd and staged a stunning recovery, culminating in Martin Kaymer sinking the putt that saw the cup remain with Europe.

And Solskjaer has won it...

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Manchester United scores an injury time winner in the UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp

The 1999 Champions League final in Barcelona saw Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United chasing a unique treble. Bayern Munich had led through Mario Basler's early goal and it looked like job done as the game entered stoppage time at the Nou Camp. Enter substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the former side-footing home the equaliser before Solskjaer nudged home Sheringham's flick into the roof of the net to spark utter jubilation.

The Rumble in the Jungle

Le champion du monde de boxe des poids lourds am?ricain George Foreman (C) pousse son compatriote Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) (D)

One of the most iconic fights in boxing history saw the biggest, baddest heavyweight on the planet, George Foreman, take on the greatest of them all, Muhammad Ali, in Zaire. And it was Ali's 'rope-a-dope' tactics which outfoxed Foreman after being pulverised against the ropes for long periods. Ali had worn his opponent into the ground and by the ninth round, he vacated the ropes to unleash a barrage of punches and send Foreman spinning towards the canvas. Ali showed the world he could still 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee'.

Botham's Ashes

England cricket captain Ian Botham is interviewed after his historic performance in the third test match against Australia at Headingley

Back in 1981, Australia were on the verge of going 2-0 up against England in the Test series inside four days at Headingley when Ian Botham strode to the crease. His swashbuckling innings of 149 made the Aussies bat again and Bob Willis ripped through the tourists with figures of 8-43 to seal a remarkable 18-run win. England had become just the second Test team to win after following-on, and that momentum swing helped them go on to a 3-1 Ashes series victory.

Allez les Bleus

French winger Philippe Bernat-Salles jubilates after scoring a try during the Rugby World Cup semi-final match

Sacre bleu! France found themselves 24-10 down after Jonah Lomu's two tries put New Zealand in total control of their 1999 World Cup semi-final. The pre-tournament favourites looked destined for the final, but then came a sudden Gallic turnaround thanks to a 28-point haul from Christophe Lamaison to leave the All Blacks reeling. Philippe Bernat-Salles sealed a remarkable 43-31 win at Twickenham.

The black ball final

Dennis Taylor celebrates victory in the World Snooker Championship Final at the Crucible Theatre

When Dennis Taylor trailed snooker legend Steve Davis 8-0 after the opening session of the 1985 Crucible final, an easy whitewash for the 'Nugget' looked to be on the cards. But Taylor staged an amazing comeback to drag it back to 17-17 and force a nerve-jangling final frame in which he provided the most extraordinary sporting narrative by sinking the final black. The final concluded well after midnight, with more than 18.5 million people - almost a third of the population - glued to their television screens.

Agassi's redemption

Andre Agassi of the USA holds up the trophy after defeating Andrei Medvedev of the Ukraine to win the men's singles final of the French Open

Andre Agassi knew the French Open final in 1999 would likely be his last chance at the career Grand Slam and his last chance of winning at Roland Garros. He lost the first set 6-1 in just 19 minutes and quickly found himself two sets down and on the verge of defeat to Andrei Medvedev when the Ukrainian won the next 6-2. But the American fought back in gallant style to win in five and become just the second man, after Rod Laver, to complete a career Grand Slam in the Open Era.

The Machine turns on

James Wade after beating Mervyn King in the final of the 2014 Unibet Masters.

Mervyn King looked on course to finally win his first major tournament at a fifth attempt when he opened up a 9-2 lead over his opponent James Wade in the final of the 2014 Unibet Masters in Edinburgh. The King missed eight darts for victory - including an agonising six in leg 17 - before Wade staged a remarkable comeback to win 11-10, taking out a 135 checkout to land the £50,000 prize.

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