UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Best Ever Finals

Ahead of this weekend’s Champions League final between Arsenal and PSG, we discuss five of the greatest European Cup finals ever played.

⭐ STARSPORTS.BET CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPECIALS ⭐

1. Liverpool 3–3 AC Milan – Istanbul, 2005

The greatest Champions League final ever played. Possibly the greatest club football match in history.

Liverpool were 3-0 down at half-time. Hernan Crespo had just scored his second of the night. AC Milan looked untouchable. The game felt over – every pundit, punter and fan inside the stadium thought the trophy was heading to Italy.

Then came six minutes that changed football history forever.

Steven Gerrard started the comeback. Vladimir Smicer made it 3-2. Xabi Alonso converted the rebound from his saved penalty to complete one of the greatest turnarounds ever seen in a European Cup final.

At 3-3, Liverpool somehow survived extra time before Jerzy Dudek produced one of the most iconic penalty shootout performances in Champions League history.

If you’d backed Liverpool at half-time in Istanbul, you were either a genius or completely mad. Either way, you won.

2. Manchester United 2–1 Bayern Munich – Barcelona, 1999

One of the most dramatic Champions League finals of all time.

Bayern Munich led from the sixth minute and controlled most of the match. Manchester United looked beaten. The clock hit stoppage time. Then football produced another miracle.

Teddy Sheringham equalised. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won it moments later. Two goals in injury time completed one of the most astonishing comebacks in football history.

No lead is ever safe in a Champions League final. Barcelona 1999 proved that forever.

“Football, bloody hell,” said Sir Alex Ferguson afterwards. He wasn’t wrong.

3. Barcelona 2–1 Arsenal – Paris, 2006

Arsenal’s last Champions League final appearance — and one they will desperately hope to avenge against PSG this weekend.

The Gunners lost goalkeeper Jens Lehmann to a red card after just 18 minutes. Playing with ten men against peak Barcelona in a European Cup final should have been impossible.

Yet Arsenal still led through Sol Campbell and produced one of the bravest performances seen in a Champions League final.

For a while, the upset looked possible.

Samuel Eto’o eventually equalised before Juliano Belletti scored the winner late on. Barcelona lifted the trophy, but Arsenal earned enormous respect in defeat.

Now, they have another chance at European glory.

4. Real Madrid 3–2 Liverpool – Kyiv, 2018

Loris Karius endured a nightmare evening, gifting Real Madrid two painful goals in one of the most infamous goalkeeping displays in Champions League history.

But the defining image remains Gareth Bale’s sensational overhead kick – arguably the greatest goal ever scored in a European Cup final.

Chaotic, emotional and impossible to forget, Kyiv 2018 delivered unforgettable drama from start to finish.

5. Real Madrid 4–1 Atletico Madrid – Lisbon, 2014

Atletico Madrid were ninety seconds from winning their first European Cup. But it wasn’t to be.

Sergio Ramos headed home a corner in stoppage time. Madrid took over in extra time – Bale, Marcelo, Ronaldo – and the scoreline ended up looking comfortable. It absolutely was not.

Atletico under Simeone were magnificent. They deserved a final with a different ending. The fact they didn’t get one is exactly what makes this one of the most emotionally charged matches in Champions League history.

The wrong team won, depending on who you support. Which is, of course, what great finals are made of.