It was a season shaped by chaos, redemption and endless drama. From historic triumphs to crazy comebacks, here are Score 90’s 10 most iconic football moments of 2025.
10) Manchester United’s Europa League Quarter-Final Comeback
Manchester United’s 2025 has been largely forgettable, but one night at Old Trafford will live long in the memory.
Leading Lyon 2-0 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate at half-time, United appeared comfortable. Then the game unravelled. Goals from Corentin Tolisso and Nicolás Tagliafico dragged Lyon level before extra time, where the French side struck twice to take a 4-2 lead deep into the contest.
What followed made no sense. Late goals from Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire completed a stunning turnaround and sent Old Trafford into disbelief. United did not go on to win the competition, but this comeback instantly joined the club’s catalogue of iconic European nights.
9) Liverpool Break Transfer Record – Twice
Fresh off a Premier League title, Liverpool wasted no time asserting their intent. They broke the British transfer record not once, but twice.
First came Florian Wirtz for €125m. Weeks later, Alexander Isak arrived for €145m. Neither exploded into form immediately, but flashes of their quality soon underlined why Liverpool were prepared to spend nine figures on both.
8) Chelsea Crowned Champions of the World
Chelsea have collected trophies relentlessly in the modern era, but 2025 added a new one to the cabinet: the revamped Club World Cup.
They qualified as one of the recent Champions League winners, but entered the tournament off the back of an underwhelming domestic campaign.
What followed defied all expectations. In the final, they dismantled Paris St-Germain 3-0. Cole Palmer was outstanding, scoring twice and assisting the third.
7) Inter’s Route to the Final
Inter’s journey to the Champions League final was pure theatre.
Facing Barcelona in the semi-final, Inter trailed late in the second leg and on aggregate as the clock ticked beyond 90 minutes. Then came Francesco Acerbi. The veteran centre-back smashed home an equaliser to force extra time, before substitute Davide Frattesi struck the winner.
A 7-6 aggregate victory. The San Siro in chaos. One of the great Champions League ties.
6) Declan Rice’s Free Kicks
Declan Rice had never scored a direct free-kick. Then he scored two. Against Real Madrid. In the same game.
Both efforts bent beyond Thibaut Courtois and into the top corner, but the goals only told part of the story. Rice dominated the midfield, covering every blade of grass and dictating the tempo against Europe’s most decorated side.
It was the performance that confirmed his place among the elite.
5) Neymar to the Rescue
Neymar’s return to Santos was meant to be a romantic homecoming. Instead, it turned into a relegation battle.
With six games remaining, Santos sat inside the drop zone. Neymar, hampered by a recurring hamstring injury for much of the season, finally found rhythm when it mattered most. Goals, assists and moments of magic dragged his boyhood club away from danger.
From fairytale to firefight and back again.
4) Tottenham Finally Win Something
After 17 years of waiting, Tottenham finally lifted a major trophy.
Weeks after Harry Kane ended his own trophy drought elsewhere, Spurs delivered silverware during one of their worst domestic seasons in recent memory, narrowly avoiding relegation after 22 league defeats.
A scrappy 1-0 Europa League final win over Manchester United was enough to secure the trophy, although not even silverware could save Ange Postecoglou’s job.
3) Dembele’s Redemption Arc
Once written off as one of football’s great transfer flops, Ousmane Dembélé completed one of the sport’s most remarkable turnarounds.
He led PSG to a historic quadruple and finished the season with 53 goals and assists across all competitions. The reward was inevitable: the Ballon d’Or.
From prodigy to punchline to football’s top individual honour. Redemption, complete.
2) Portugal Win the Nations League
Spain arrived as favourites, riding years of international dominance. Portugal had other ideas.
Spain led twice in the final before Cristiano Ronaldo equalised shortly after the hour. Substituted before extra time, Ronaldo could only watch as Portugal edged a dramatic penalty shootout 5-3.
As captain, he returned to lift the trophy. Another trophy added to the collection for CR7. Will he finally add a World Cup in 2026?
1) PSG Destroy Inter
After years of near-misses, PSG finally won their first Champions League.
Inter were overwhelmed from the first whistle as PSG surged to a scintillating 5-0 victory.
It was total domination and vindication for the strategic decision to move away from the superstar era and toward a squad built of balance, cohesion and exciting young stars.
