A look at the ten best ever Champions League finals ahead of this weekend’s showdown between Barcelona and Juventus, featuring Liverpool and Manchester United classics…
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10) Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
A thrilling all-German final from 2013, Bayern Munich made a decisive step towards the treble after Arjen Robben’s late winner against Borussia Dortmund. This even game ended 2-1 after both attack-minded teams gave it a real go and provided terrific entertainment at Wembley, with Jurgen Klopp’s side unlucky in the end to lose to one of the finest club sides of the modern era.
9) Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid
The first Champions League final between two clubs from the same city, Real Madrid eventually produced a one-sided looking scoreline against Atletico Madrid with a 4-1 win in extra time, though they had been 1-0 down for much of the game. Diego Godin gave the underdogs the lead, only for Sergio Ramos’ to equalise in stoppage time to keep the game alive. Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo added gloss to the scoreline, delivering Real’s tenth title.
8) Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
The first all-English final in the Champions League, Manchester United and Chelsea played out an intriguing 1-1 draw after goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard. In the end, it went to penalties after both sides refused to be beaten, but for crucial misses from John Terry and Nicolas Anelka to hand the trophy to Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.
7) Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal
Arsenal’s first ever appearance in a Champions League final and an effort to be proud of, Sol Campbell gave the Gunners the lead against big favourites Barcelona shortly after Jens Lehmann’s red card saw them reduced to ten men. They held on until late in the game when Barca’s quality showed, albeit via a questionable offside decision as Samuel Eto’o slotted in the equaliser. Juliano Belletti then struck the winner as that famous Ronaldinh0-inspired side begun what would prove to be Catalan dominance in this competition for years to come.
6) Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United
Another Barcelona win over a Premier League side, Pep Guardiola made it two Champions League wins in three years with this superb victory over Manchester United. Having beaten them also two years earlier, Barca outclassed their opponents again as Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa scored three fine efforts at Wembley, with Wayne Rooney briefly giving United hope with a first-half equaliser.
5) Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Juventus
A big upset from back in 1996, Borussia Dortmund marked their first ever Champions League final appearance with a win over Juventus, scoring some fine goals to down the Italian giants.
4) Real Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
With a stunning strike to win the game, Zinedine Zidane almost single-handedly made this a final to remember as he guided Real Madrid to a 2-1 victory over plucky underdogs Bayer Leverkusen.
3) Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich
One of the all-time great comebacks, Manchester United struck twice in stoppage time against Bayern Munich to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead, with Teddy Sherringham equalising and Ole Gunnar Solskajer scoring a legendary winner, sealing the treble in some style for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
2) AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona
An absolute drubbing by one of the great club sides of the modern era, AC Milan swept Barcelona aside in this amazing game, in one of the most one-sided final clashes ever seen.
1) Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan
An absolute miracle of a result, Liverpool were 3-0 down at half time against clear favourites AC Milan in Istanbul, only for Steven Gerrard to start the comeback in an incredible second half that also saw Vladamir Smicer and Xabi Alonso claw the game back. The 2005 final eventually went to penalties, with the Reds holding their nerve to finish the job and claim their fifth European Cup.
List via the Daily Telegraph.