Ranked: 5 greatest Champions League finals of all-time | Champions League finals
The Champions League has become the pinnacle of the club football season. The excitement, passion and play of the tournament makes it one of — if not the greatest — sporting events in the world. On May 26, the 2018 Champions League final will take place in Kiev, Ukraine. It will have a lot to live up to in terms of excitement as football fans have seen some great finals in the past.
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What are the 5 greatest Champions League finals of all-time?
5. Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Juventus, 1997
Played in Munich’s Olympiastadion, Borussia Dortmund were heavy underdogs to a strong Juventus team. That didn’t prevent Dortmund from taking a 2-0 first half lead. After the hour-mark, Juventus’ Alessandro Del Piero halved the Germans’ lead and a fight back looked on the cards.
Just six minutes after Del Piero’s strike, Dortmund’s Lars Ricken scored with his first touch of the game, sealing a dramatic Dortmund Champions League triumph.
4. Celtic 2-1 Internazionale, 1968
Celtic’s 1968 squad will be forever remembered as one of the greatest of all-time at the club. The final pitted the reigning Scottish champions against the superior Internazionale, who had one of the best defences of the time.
After going down a goal in the seventh minute thanks to a Alessandro Mazzola penalty, Celtic battled back with second half goals from Tommy Gemmell and Steve Chalmers. The Lisbon Lions were born out of the final, and fans in Glasgow still sing the squad’s praises.
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3. Real Madrid 4-3 Stade de Reims, 1956
The first ever final for the European Cup took place in 1956 between Real Madrid and France’s Stade de Reims. The two clubs met at Paris’ Parc des Prince and it was an instant classic.
The final was back and forth with Remis scoring in the sixth minute through Michel Leblond. Alfredo Di Stefano struck back, but Reims once again took the lead through Janusz Templin. The teams would continue to trade goals until Hector Rial put Madrid ahead for good in the 79th minute, ending the first ever Champions League/European Cup final.
2. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich, 1999
The 1998-99 Manchester United were one of the greatest teams assembled during Sir Alex Ferguson’s time as manager. Gary Neville, David Beckham, Andy Cole, Ryan Giggs… the list goes on of great players. Against the supercharged team of Bayern Munich, the game was on a knife’s edge going into the final in Barcelona.
Bayern drew first blood in the sixth minute when Mario Basler opened the scoring. For the next 84 minutes, Bayern’s resilient defence held firm. However, in the first minute of stoppage-time, the Germans’ defence broke as Teddy Sheringham equalised for the Red Devils. Two minutes later, super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer put Manchester United ahead at the death.
Do you want to be at the Champions League final in Kiev? Go to WoWTickets.Football right now to get yours!
1. Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan (AET) — 2005
Whether a fan or a neutral, it is hard to argue that Liverpool’s and AC Milan’s 2005 final wasn’t the greatest of all-time. Down 3-0 at halftime, Liverpool looked dead in the water. The biggest question wasn’t whether Liverpool would come back, rather it was how many goals would Milan score?
The Rossoneri came out the stronger team in the second half, but Liverpool fought back with goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso. The Reds then weathered a Milan storm in extra-time and won the Champions League in a dramatic penalty shootout.
The final is the most talked about Champions League game despite occurring 13 years ago.
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