Leicester City were quoted at 5,000-1 to win the Premier League in August 2015. They finished ten points clear, and the conditions that allowed it closed almost immediately.
Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City were all ahead on aggregate and all went out. Then Madrid beat Liverpool with a quarter of the possession.
England and New Zealand tied at 241 at Lord's in 2019, tied the super over at 15, and the trophy went on boundaries. The rule was changed the following year.
Dr. John Kelley, NOAA/NOS/COOPSPublic domain
The United States beat the Soviet Union 4-3 in the 1980 Olympic ice hockey tournament. It was a medal-round game, not a final, and it was not shown live.
ClavecinPublic domain
Serena Williams beat Venus 6-4 6-4 in the 2017 Australian Open final. She disclosed months later that she had been pregnant throughout the tournament.
Milan led the 2005 Champions League final 3-0 at the interval and lost it on penalties. The side that had been the best in Europe for three years never quite recovered its authority.
Novak Djokovic's record is usually explained by flexibility and defence. The numbers point somewhere less romantic — the second-serve return.
Michael Jordan scored 45 in game six of the 1998 NBA Finals and won it with a jumper in the final seconds. It was his last act as a Chicago Bull.
Suraj100Public domain
India were 232 behind and asked to bat again. VVS Laxman made 281, Rahul Dravid 180, and Australia's sixteen-match winning run ended three days later.
Ayrton Senna passed four cars on the opening lap of the 1993 European Grand Prix in changing conditions, and won by more than a minute in a car that was not the quickest.
Jürgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund won two Bundesliga titles with a wage bill a fraction of Bayern's, using an idea that is now taught everywhere.
