The top 20 most dramatic injury-time winners in football history

There is nothing in football quite like an injury-time winner.

When the fourth official's board goes up, you enter a stage of the match where the nerves are more frayed than ever and one mistake or one moment of magic can prove decisive with little or no time left to respond.

It is a time when heroes and villains are made, lasting memories are forged and the absolute peak time for drama in a sport which provides so many twists and turns.

While some injury-time goals are enough to earn three points, others are even more significant, winning knockout ties, cup finals and even league titles in the most dramatic fashion.

One of the most famous and unforgettable examples took place exactly eight years ago today when Sergio Aguero snatched victory for Manchester City on the final day of the season against Queens Park Rangers, securing the Premier League title at local rivals Manchester United 's expense in the process.

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The anniversary gives us the perfect chance to look back on some of the other incredible last-gasp finales and where Aguero's moment in the sun ranks among some of football's most dramatic winners.

The rules for inclusion are as follows:

- Only goals scored in stoppage time at the end of matches, ie beyond the 90-minute or 120-minute marks, count.

- Only goals that were directly responsible for winning a match, tie or title count.

So, without further ado, here is Sports Mole list of the 20 greatest injury-time winners in the history of football.

20. Matthias Tinnemeyer - SV Burlage (vs. RSV Emden)

By far the lowest-profile match on the list, but by no means the least dramatic. This German seventh-tier contest shot to the headlines in April 2014 following a truly remarkable to-and-fro showdown.

There had already been plenty of drama before injury time, with Emden coming from two goals down to lead 3-2 and then 4-3, only for Burlage to then launch a comeback of their own to make it 5-4 with 11 minutes of normal time remaining.

Emden equalised again to make it 5-5 at the end of the 90 and looked certain to go on and claim at least a draw against their eight-man hosts, who had seen two men sent off and had another forced to leave early in order to get to work on time.

The visitors thought they had a stoppage-time winner until the linesman ruled it out, at which stage an ambulance drove across the pitch to resuscitate Burlage coach Jan Rieken, for whom the drama had proven too much.

After a lengthy stoppage, and with Rieken en route to hospital, play eventually resumed and Matthias Tinnemeyer scored the winner for the depleted hosts to seal a 6-5 triumph in one of the most incredible matches ever.

19. Michael Pook - Cheltenham Town (vs. Burton Albion )

Another 11-goal thriller from the lower leagues, and one which provided another truly memorable storyline throughout with nine of those goals coming in the second half alone.

Cheltenham Town were battling against relegation in League Two when they visited newly-promoted Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium for the first time in March 2010 and seemed on course for defeat when they trailed 2-0 at half time.

Two goals in as many minutes restored parity only for Burton to then rebuild their two-goal advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.

Incredibly, what was already a topsy-turvy six-goal affair would see five more go in from the 84th minute onwards; Michael Pook scored on 84' to make it 4-3, Steve Kabba responded one minute later to make it 5-3 and then Pook netted another two minutes after that to reduce the deficit to one goal again.

Justin Richards then scored an injury-time equaliser to make it 5-5 before Pook secured his place in Cheltenham folklore with an even later winner, completing a hat-trick in 10 minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of what looked to be certain defeat.

Even more remarkably, Pook only scored nine goals in his entire Football League career, with a third of them coming in those madcap 10 minutes.

18. Dennis Bergkamp - Netherlands (vs. Argentina )

A far cry from the lower leagues of Germany and England, Dennis Bergkamp produced arguably the best goal in this countdown and on one of the biggest stages too - the 1998 World Cup quarter-final.

Netherlands and Argentina were locked at 1-1 in Marseille when the clock ticked over 90, with Claudio Lopez having earlier cancelled out Patrick Kluivert 's opener.

A moment of magic was needed, so step forward Bergkamp. Frank de Boer sent a pinpoint 60-yard pass towards the Arsenal maestro, who produced a delicious first touch to control it, played it through the legs of Roberto Ayala with his second and then volleyed past Carlos Roa with his third - one of the best goals in World Cup history.

Not only did it send Netherlands through to the semi-finals of the World Cup, where they lost to Brazil incidentally, but it also saw Bergkamp become the all-time record goalscorer for his country.

17. Felipe Santana - Borussia Dortmund (vs. Malaga )

Last-gasp winners are all the better when they come after an unlikely comeback, and Dortmund produced one of the most unlikely in Champions League history against Malaga in 2013.

The two sides had played out a goalless draw in the first leg of the quarter-final in Spain, and Dortmund's hopes of progressing further looked bleak when Eliseu made it 2-1 to Malaga with only seven minutes remaining.

The away-goals rule meant that Dortmund needed two goals to make it into the semi-finals, which remained the case as the clock ticked into injury time.

Just as all hope seemed to have faded, Marco Reus pulled one of the goals back in the 91st minute, before Felipe Santana sent Jurgen Klopp and co into delirium with another just one minute after that.

In truth the goal should never have stood - Santana was just one of the Dortmund players offside - but the German outfit did not care as they went on to reach the final, where they lost to Bayern Munich.

16. Lionel Messi - Barcelona (vs. Real Madrid )

Of all the many, many goals Lionel Messi has scored throughout his glittering career, few would have brought him quite as much satisfaction as this one.

The defending champions trailed Real Madrid by three points having played a game more than their fiercest rivals when they visited the Bernabeu, and they knew that defeat would all but end their hopes of retaining the title.

Even a draw would have left things firmly in Madrid's hands, and James Rodriguez appeared to have earned that for the hosts with an 85th-minute equaliser after Sergio Ramos had been sent off.

Messi had earlier scored his 499th Barcelona goal with a fine solo effort, and he brought the significant 500 milestone up in the most dramatic fashion with a first-time finish into the bottom corner in the 92nd minute.

The goal sent Barcelona back to the top of the table with five games left courtesy of their head-to-head record, although Madrid made use of their game in hand to go on and pip their Clasico rivals to the title.

15. Dejan Lovren - Liverpool (vs. Borussia Dortmund)

Dortmund pulled off their own remarkable European comeback against Malaga in 2012-13, but three years later - and with Klopp now in the opposite dugout - they were on the wrong end of one at the hands of Liverpool here.

A 1-1 first-leg draw in Germany had given Liverpool the slight advantage heading back to Anfield, but within 10 minutes of the second leg starting they appeared to be heading out courtesy of quickfire goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Divock Origi pulled one back for the hosts shortly after half time, only for Marco Reus to restore Dortmund's two-goal lead to leave Liverpool needing three goals in the final half an hour.

The Reds are no strangers to epic comebacks, though, and goals from Philippe Coutinho (66') and Mamadou Sakho (77') pulled them level on the night and left them needing only one more to progress to the Europa League semi-finals.

It took until the 91st minute for that goal to finally come, and the unlikely source made it all the more dramatic as Dejan Lovren nodded home to send Anfield wild.

Liverpool went on to make it all the way to the final, where they were beaten by Sevilla.

14. Steve Bruce - Manchester United (vs. Sheffield Wednesday )

A goal which ranks among the most dramatic and most important in Premier League history; without Steve Bruce's 96th-minute winner against Sheffield Wednesday we may never have seen Manchester United go on to dominate the first two decades of the competition.

The Red Devils had gone 26 years without being crowned champions of England but were in the mix during the inaugural Premier League campaign, battling it out with Aston Villa at the top of the table.

The visiting Wednesday looked set to inflict a damaging defeat on United at Old Trafford when they led 1-0 with only five minutes remaining, but Bruce rediscovered his uncanny eye for goal at the opportune moment, ending a six-month drought in incredible fashion.

First the centre-back equalised in the 86th minute, and then six minutes into injury-time he met Gary Pallister 's cross with a bullet header that sent Sir Alex Ferguson and assistant Brian Kidd hopping onto the pitch in euphoria.

'Fergie Time' was born, United went on to win their first Premier League title and the foundations had been set for a dynasty which lasted 20 years.

13. Kelvin - Porto (vs. Benfica )

Ninety minutes into the penultimate game of the season and Portugal's two most successful teams, who are once again vying for the title, are locked at 1-1.

Porto had won eight of the previous 10 titles, but Benfica seemed to be on the verge of toppling their greatest foes with a two-point lead heading into their trip to the Estadio Do Dragao.