In one of the darkest moments in the club’s 137-year history, Tottenham were humiliated 7-2 in their own stadium by Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
To compound the misery, former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry scored four times as Spurs collapsed to the worst home loss by an English team in European competition.
But they are far from the first English side to suffer humiliation in Europe. Indeed, pretty much every one of our representatives in continental tournaments has been humbled at one stage of another.
We take a look back at some other embarrassing matches for our teams.
Tottenham were humiliated 7-2 at home by Bayern Munich in the Champions League
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino looks on in horror as Bayern pile on the misery
BAYERN MUNICH 5-1 ARSENAL AND ARSENAL 1-5 BAYERN MUNICH
Champions League last-16, 2016-17 season
Before Arsenal fans gloat too much about Spurs’ humiliation, it’s worth remembering they too have been on the receiving end of ruthless Bayern.
This 10-2 aggregate thrashing in the last 16 of the 2016-17 Champions League essentially confirmed that the Arsene Wenger era was drawing to a close.
Their collapse both in the Allianz Arena and then in the return at the Emirates Stadium seemed somehow to perfectly illustrate the terminal drift and decline of Wenger’s final decade.
A dejected Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal are cut to shreds by Bayern Munich in March 2017
Arsenal’s 10-2 aggregate demolition marked the beginning of the end for Arsene Wenger
They were no longer good enough to compete in the Champions League knockout stages – this was their seventh consecutive exit at the last 16 stage, with four of those coming at the hands of Bayern.
The way the team collapsed mentally following Laurent Koscielny’s red card in the second leg – they led 1-0 at the time – confirmed that things had to change.
MIDTJYLLAND 2-1 MANCHESTER UNITED
UEFA Europa League last-32, 2015-16 season
Louis van Gaal’s second season at Old Trafford and United had become one of the most boring teams to watch in the Premier League.
They stunk out the place in Europe as well, crashing out of the Champions League in a group that contained PSV Eindhoven, Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow.
Left with that unwanted consolation prize of the Europa League, things deteriorated from disappointing to downright humiliating when United lost 2-1 to the largely unknown Danish outfit Midtjylland.
Embarrassed Manchester United players following their shock 2-1 loss to Midtjylland
The defeat in Herning marked the low point of Louis van Gaal’s reign as United’s manager
The team from the land of Lego had not played a game in two months because of their league’s winter break but came from behind after Memphis Depay had given United the lead.
A United back line of Donald Love, Chris Smalling, Paddy McNair and Daley Blind were discombobulated by Midtjylland’s 6ft 7in forward Paul Onuachu, who scored their winner after Pione Sisto levelled.
One good thing did come out of the tie, however. United’s injury crisis was so acute a 18-year-old academy graduate Marcus Rashford was drafted in to replace Anthony Martial before the second leg.
He scored twice as United redeemed themselves with a 5-1 win at Old Trafford and a star was born.
CHELSEA vs ST GALLEN, HAPOEL TEL AVIV AND VIKING STAVANGER
UEFA Cup, 2000-2002
Chelsea are now well established as a European force but the years immediately before Roman Abramovich’s transformation of the club are like a weird twilight zone of ritual humiliation.
The Blues often frequented the European Cup Winners’ Cup and then the UEFA Cup and just as frequently were dumped out by some unfancied minnow.
In 2000, they lost to Swiss outfit St Gallen 2-1 on aggregate which was made worse by the fact Christian Panucci’s goal had given them a 1-0 first leg lead at Stamford Bridge.
The following year, they crashed 2-0 in Israel against Hapoel Tel Aviv, conceding twice in the final minutes after six players decided not to travel for security reasons.
John Terry and Emmanuel Petit reflect on Chelsea’s humbling by Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2001
John Terry (right) looks dejected as Chelsea lose 2-0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel
They could only manage a 1-1 draw in the return in London after fluffing chance after chance with Gianfranco Zola’s goal proving merely a footnote.
12 months later and it was the Norwegians of Viking Stavanger who humbled Claudio Ranieri’s team and that after they’d won 2-1 in the home leg.
They found themselves 2-0 down inside 35 minutes in Norway before Frank Lampard and John Terry scored either side of a goal by former Manchester United player Erik Nevland.
That would have been enough to advance on away goals but Nevland scored two again two minutes from time to leave Chelsea concentrating on domestic matters.
MANCHESTER CITY vs GROCLIN DYSKOBOLIA
UEFA Cup second round, 2003-04
As with Chelsea, Manchester City also suffered some red-faced moments on their forays into Europe prior to the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 with Polish teams apparently some kind of kryptonite.
They were beaten by Widzew Lodz in the 1977-78 UEFA Cup and crashed out to Groclin, a team whose stadium held just 6,800 spectators, in the 2003-04 UEFA Cup.
Manchester City goalkeeper David Seaman is beaten by Groclin’s Andrzej Niedzielan
City were only in the competition because of their admirable Fair Play record and were held 1-1 by Groclin in the home first leg despite an early Nicolas Anelka goal.
Groclin then put in a spirited performance on their own patch to frustrate Kevin Keegan’s team and progress on away goals.
Incidentally, City’s vast wealth didn’t put an end to their Polish pain. They lost 3-1 to Lech Poznan in the 2010-11 Europa League group stage though did subsequently steal their backs-to-the-action celebration.
DINAMO BUCHAREST 5-1 EVERTON
UEFA Cup first round, 2005-06
Excitement was sky high when David Moyes’ Everton finished fourth in the 2004-05 Premier League and won their first-ever appearance in the Champions League.
But the bubble was quickly burst when they lost 4-2 on aggregate to Spanish side Villarreal who, to be fair, would go on to reach that season’s semi-finals.
Duncan Ferguson rues a missed chance as Everton crashed 5-1 to Dinamo Bucharest
It was a real let down for Everton boss David Moyes following a fourth place finish
Plunged through the trap door into the UEFA Cup, the Toffees were evidently still feeling the sting of disappointment.
They were battered 5-1 by Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest, conceding four goals in an horrendous second-half to render the second leg at Goodison pretty academic.
BLACKBURN ROVERS vs TRELLEBORG
UEFA Cup first round, 1994-95
Blackburn’s second place finish in the 1993-94 Premier League earned them their first ever jaunt into European competition in the UEFA Cup.
Given the strength of their team, Kenny Dalglish’s men would have been pretty confident of downing Trelleborg, a Swedish outfit only known to aficionados of Scandinavian football.
Not so. Frederik Sandell scored the Swedish team’s winner at Ewood Park in the first leg and they then managed to hold Rovers 2-2 on their own turf to advance despite goals by Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer.
Joachim Karlsson scored the two most famous goals in Trelleborg’s history but there was a silver lining for Rovers.
Free of European distractions nice and early, they would go on the win the Premier League that season.
BRAGA vs LIVERPOOL
UEFA Europa League last 16, 2010-11
Two years to the day after thrashing Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield, Liverpool experienced the opposite of European football emotion when they lost to Braga in the Europa League.
They lost the first leg in Portugal 1-0 after Sotiris Kyrgiakos clumsily conceded a penalty and Alan fired it past Pepe Reina.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll is grounded during their shock defeat to Braga in 2011
Manager Dalglish had picked the likes of Jay Spearing and Christian Poulsen in his team and it’s fair to say Liverpool lacked a cutting edge.
The second leg at Anfield wasn’t much better. Andy Carroll made his debut but a breakthrough wasn’t forthcoming in a goalless draw that saw them exit.
MANCHESTER UNITED vs ROTOR VOLGOGRAD
UEFA Cup first round, 1995-96
Having gained a goalless draw on a tricky trip to Russia in the first leg of their September 1995 tie, Alex Ferguson’s United would have been confident of completing the job at Old Trafford.
But a youthful but still strong United team somehow conceded two goals in the opening 25 minutes, scored by Vladimir Niederhaus and Oleg Veretennikov, to leave them with a mountain to climb.
Peter Schmeichel heads home but United are unable to avert an exit to Rotor Volgograd
Paul Scholes pulled one back and the closing stages saw goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel head home from a corner before a late siege fell short.
Schmeichel’s goals at least saved United’s proud unbeaten home record in Europe – that was lost to Fenerbahce a year later – but they were eliminated on away goals.
LEEDS UNITED 0-4 LIERSE
UEFA Cup first round, 1971-72
Leeds were a real force in both English and European football around this time and had won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner of the UEFA Cup) in both 1968 and 1971.
So when their next European campaign saw them drawn against Belgian minnows Lierse, there only appeared to be one outcome.
And their progress seemed guaranteed when they won the first leg 2-0 in Belgium with a side featuring four reserve players, Chris Galvin and Peter Lorimer scoring the goals.
The Lierse manager Frank De Munck publicly said his ambition for the return leg at Elland Road was to avoid disgrace at the hands of Don Revie’s side.
They did rather better than that. First-half goals by Frans Janssens and Peter Ressel wiped out the first leg deficit.
Lierse had nothing to lose and continued to attack after the break until Janssens scored their third and Ressel grabbed a fourth on the break as Leeds poured forward.
‘It was sensational… miracles do happen,’ said De Munck afterwards.
SPORTING LISBON 5-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final, second leg, 1963-64
Sir Matt Busby’s United team were European pioneers and already had two European Cup semi-finals under their belt by the time they entered the 1963-64 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Having seen off Dutch side Willem II and compatriots Tottenham Hotspur, they were paired with Sporting Lisbon in the last eight.
It had the potential to be a tricky test but a hat-trick from Denis Law and another from Bobby Charlton earned a 4-1 win at Old Trafford that would surely secure their passage.
Man United’s famous attacking trio of Bobby Charlton (left), Denis Law (second right) and George Best (right) suffered a heavy European exit to Sporting Lisbon in 1964
However, despite taking no chances with a strong team featuring the famous Law, Charlton and George Best axis, United capitulated in the return in Lisbon.
They conceded twice in the opening 12 minutes to Osvaldo da Silva and panicked further after the break.
Gerlado Carvalho and Joao Morais scored to overturn the first leg deficit before Osvaldo completed his hat-trick with what was the third goal in seven kamikaze minutes just after the break.
It remains United’s heaviest defeat in European competition.
P.S. REMEMBER THIS ONE?
Tottenham have suffered a heavier defeat in Europe. They were beaten 8-0 by German club Cologne in the UEFA Intertoto Cup back in July 1995.
The Intertoto Cup was a long-winded route into the UEFA Cup with games played during what was pre-season for everyone else.
Spurs didn’t really want to enter the competition that year and duly fielded a team of reserves and youth team players, hence the heavy loss in Germany to a full-strength Cologne team.