10 Major ‘Cup Upsets’ in Europe During the 2024/25 Season: Part 2

As the European football season draws to a close, Flashscore reflects on 10 of the most significant ‘cupsets’ from the 2024/25 campaign.

This marks the second instalment in our two-part exploration of the most astonishing upsets in cup competitions across Europe this past season. If you missed the first part, you can catch up here.

Third-tier side Biel-Bienne was one of the standout stories of the European cup landscape. They stunned four professional teams during their impressive run, becoming the first semi-professional club to reach the semi-finals since 1999. Among their victories, they eliminated Lugano, a team that had reached the final for three consecutive seasons.

In the semi-final, Biel-Bienne faced last season’s league champions, Young Boys. Seven years after their last cup clash—where Young Boys triumphed in extra time—Biel-Bienne was expected to see their fairy tale come to an end.

However, it was a different narrative altogether. In front of a nearly packed Tissot Arena, Biel-Bienne pulled off a remarkable upset. Young Boys’ Kastriot Imeri was sent off mere minutes after coming on, and the decisive moment arrived in the ninth minute of extra time, when Maiko Sartoretti converted a penalty to secure a 1-0 victory.

Biel-Bienne’s cup journey ended in the final, where they were defeated 4-1 by Basel, who completed a domestic double. Nevertheless, their extraordinary run will be long remembered.

Next up is one of the biggest cup shocks of the 2024/25 season from France. During the fifth round of the Coupe de France, fifth-tier Bourgoin-Jallieu faced off against Olympique Lyon, five-time cup champions and recent Europa League quarter-finalists. It was expected to be a straightforward victory for Lyon.

Instead, they faced one of the most humiliating defeats in their cup history. Bourgoin-Jallieu took the lead with Mehdi Moujetzky’s goal in the 20th minute. Lyon equalised shortly before half-time through Nemanja Matic, then went ahead with a strike from Georges Mikautadze midway through the second half.

However, their lead was short-lived, as Moujetzky equalised just five minutes later. Bourgoin-Jallieu then held on for dear life and forced a penalty shootout, where goalkeeper Ronan Jay saved the first two penalties. Ultimately, Lyon succumbed 4-2 on penalties.

The Stade Pierre Rajon erupted as Bourgoin-Jallieu celebrated their stunning victory. They advanced to the round of 16, where they faced another Ligue 1 side, Reims, who needed penalties to overcome the fifth-tier club. Bourgoin-Jallieu finished their season fourth in their National 3 group and secured their place for the 2025/26 campaign.

Shifting gears to Northern Ireland, we have another surprising cup result. Larne, who participated in the inaugural Conference League group stage last autumn, faced an unexpected defeat shortly after conquering Gent 1-0 in their final European match.

In the fifth round of the Irish Cup, Larne squared off against Limavady United, a team promoted to the second tier. Expectations were high for the two-time Premiership winners.

However, Limavady United took the match to extra time, where a goal by Ruairi Boorman in the 114th minute sent the underdogs through, eliminating Larne from the cup in what was their earliest exit since 2016/17.

Limavady United advanced to face Crusaders next, but their cup dream ended with a last-minute goal. Nevertheless, their campaign was quite successful, narrowly missing out on consecutive promotions.

Biel-Bienne wasn’t the only third-tier side to make a cup final—Arminia Bielefeld matched their feat with a remarkable run as well, knocking out four Bundesliga teams along the way. The side, having faced back-to-back relegations in 2020/21 and 2021/22, showed resilience by toppling Union Berlin, Freiburg, and Werder Bremen to reach Berlin.

Bielefeld met Bayer Leverkusen, last year’s domestic double winners, in the semi-finals. Although Leverkusen had a decent season, finishing second in the Bundesliga, expectations were low for Die Arminen.

Things did not begin well for Bielefeld, as Jonathan Tah struck first for Leverkusen. Yet, they responded three minutes later with a goal from Marius Worl, before Maximilian Grosser netted just before the half to put them ahead. Bielefeld held their composure to secure a place in the final.

Unfortunately for Bielefeld, they couldn’t best Stuttgart in the final, falling 4-2. Nevertheless, their incredible journey to the final will be etched in memory, and they will return to the 2. Bundesliga for the 2025/26 season after securing promotion from the third division.

The final major upset comes from the Kosovar Cup, where second-tier Rilindja 1974 shocked the domestic double winners Ballkani. Xhebrailat, having enjoyed a stint in the Conference League group stage in recent seasons, were anticipated to perform well in the cup.

However, they encountered an unexpected hurdle as Rilindja pulled off an unbelievable upset. Although Ballkani scored first, Rilindja equalised in the second half. After a tense 120 minutes, penalties were needed, where Rilindja converted all ten of their kicks to win in the 10th round, marking Ballkani’s earliest cup exit in six years. Following the match, Ballkani’s coach, Artim Pollozhani, resigned.

Rilindja’s own cup journey ended in the last 16 against Ferizaj, where a late goal sealed their fate. Their league season was also challenging, finishing eighth in their group and narrowly avoiding relegation, while Ballkani, after losing in UECL qualifying, ended second to Drita in the league.

Honourable Mentions

To wrap up, we have a couple of honourable mentions. In the first article, we highlighted O Elvas’ surprising elimination of Vitoria Guimaraes in the Taca de Portugal. They weren’t the only fourth-tier team to cause a significant upset; Lusitano GC also achieved this twice. They knocked out Estoril on penalties in the third round after a goalless draw and later defeated AFS 3-2 after leading by two goals twice. Their reward was a clash with Sporting Braga in the round of 16, where they lost 2-1. Nevertheless, Lusitano ended their season on a high note, earning promotion to the third tier.

The other mention goes to FC Hlucin, a third division side in Czech football, who stunned Slovan Liberec in the third round. Having won their previous two games against lower-tier teams, they faced a much tougher opponent this time around.

Yet, a penalty from Ondrej Moucka late in the second half secured their place in the next round at Liberec’s expense. Their fairy tale ended with a narrow 2-1 defeat to Teplice in the following round, while Hlucin finished mid-table in their domestic league.