A list of 5 Champions League Finals you should rewatch right now
The UEFA Champions League is the must-watch league for anyone who loves soccer. It pits the best teams from Europe’s soccer leagues against each other to discover the best team in the continent.
The tournament started in 1955 and featured only 16 teams that year. The most recent Champions League featured 79 teams.
Places in the Champions League are awarded in different ways.
There are two stems of qualification once we reach this stage – a set of tournament and league winners and the group made up of teams that came 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in their leagues. The top four teams in England, Spain, Italy, and Germany automatically reach the Champions League group stage. Each FA is allowed to choose how the spaces are handed out.
There are then two round-robin group stages with the 32 qualified teams. The final 6 places are given to the winners of a 6 round tournament held between the 44 national champions.
After this, the real tournament begins. The 32 teams are split into 8 groups of four. The top two teams from each group move on into a knockout round which ends with the Champions League final.
Today, we are going to share with you the 5 greatest finals the tournament has ever seen, to get you excited for the 2022 tournament. You can find Champions League, Premier League, and general soccer betting odds here.
#5 – 2012: Chelsea 1-1 (4-3P) Bayern Munich
Things weren’t looking good when they arrived to play Bayern Munich at home in 2012. They were arriving after a tough season in the Premier League – that year they came 6th. They were also under interim management at the time.
In the 83rd minute, German hero Thomas Muller scored the first goal of the match. Didier Drogba stepped up and equalized things. The game eventually went to penalties and thanks to a once in a career save from Petr Cech Chelsea took home the silverware.
#4 – 2008: Man United 1-1 (6-5P) Chelsea
It is impossible not to get caught up in a local rivalry at the Champions League and Manchester United vs Chelsea in 2008 is a prime example of this.
The Premier League had been close that year, but Man United pipped Chelsea to the post, winning by 2 points. They then rubbed salt in that wound by beating them in the Champions League final as well.
The penalties were as exciting as they get. Both goalies were on top form but so were the strikers. Ronaldo hit an absolutely perfect shot followed straight away by John Terry slipping as he took his and missing. Nail biting stuff.
#3 – 1994: Milan 4-0 Barcelona
Let’s roll back the clocks a little for this one.
If you want to see one of the most incredible performances from a European team ever – watch this match. Not only did Milan win the Champions League with 7 of their best players missing but they beat Barcelona into submission in the process.
Barcelona was a gaming winning machine at the time – they rarely lost and certainly not to teams like the B Team Milan were forced to field that day. But after 1 goal in the first half, Milan put away a hattrick and sent the Spanish home with egg on their faces.
Seriously, if you haven’t watched this one, do it today!
#2 – 2005: Milan 3-3 (2-3P) Liverpool
The English call this match the Miracle of Istanbul. And it’s easy to see why. It is one of the greatest comeback stories in the history of football.
Fresh off a 5th place performance in the Premier League, Liverpool headed off to Istanbul with a lot of expectation on their shoulders. Fans wanted them to bring a trophy home.
It seemed like their fans were going to be left wanting after the team in red went 0-3 down. However, never ones to give up, Liverpool scored three goals and took the game to penalties. They went on to win the match and win the title for the 5th time.
#1 – 2018: Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool
It is hard to pick one match, there have been so many fantastic moments in the premier league, but one goal in this match will go down in history. It’s still one that is talked about all over the world.
Gareth Bale shocked the world by taking his home team of Wales to the quarter finals of the 2016 Euros. But had been struggling to get game time at his home club. However, after being substituted on at the end of this game – he showed everyone why he was one of the most expensive players in the world.
Bale scored two goals, winning his team the match. The second of which was a stunning overhead kick. The timing was perfect. The kick was perfectly executed. And the fans went wild.
These goals won Madrid their 3rd Champions League title in a row, one year after Bale, Ronaldo, and co. won the title in Bale’s hometown, Cardiff.
