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The Champions League is the most prestigious football tournament in the world and it always attracts great attention from fans around the world, as well as from the betting world. Up to now, at the end of the 16th round of the 2020/21 season, four names Man City, Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool are championship candidates to win the 2021 UEFA Champions League trophy. Check Out w88 to find out the odds and place bets for your favorite candidate.
The UEFA Champions League is considered the biggest club football global competition. When it was first introduced in 1955, this prestigious tournament was only attended by national league champions. The competition then re-named in 1992. It’s noticeable that the tournament introduced a new format by allowing various participants from a country. To achieve the title of the championship of Europe, entrants go through intense competitions. After all, audiences savored several marvelous moments occurring on football pitches.
Let’s have a look at 10 unforgettable finals of some impressive clubs that have been played to date.
Top 10 UEFA Champions League Finals
10. Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich (2012/13)
The competition was the first all-German final to play in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League. Bayern had the opportunity to lift the champion trophy for the treble for the first time in their history.
Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund and achieved the championship for the fifth time. The competition took place at Wembley Stadium in London with an attendance of 86,000 people. Although Munich controlled the game well, they were prevented from scoring to rise to the top due to Dortmund’s resilient defense strategy. Until the 89th minute, Arjen Robben of Munich extended the lead over the rival by a decisive score. This marked the first treble in Bayern Munich’s history. Additionally, German football marked a huge step forward.
9. Barcelona vs Arsenal (2005/06)
2005/06 UEFA Champions League witnessed Barcelona and Arsenal face off against one another. The match marked the first time Arsenal participated in the UEFA Champions League final up to that time. The match was a marvelous exhibit of two different styles of play, Barcelona is the attacking team whereas Arsenal is the defending one.
Having the majority of the possession and continuous attacking, as a result, Barcelona defeated Arsenal 2-1 at France stadium in Paris. To an extent, Arsenal had been working hard during the match, their defense was not able to stand up to fend off two ball shots of Barcelona in 5 minutes. The triumph was the second trophy Barcelona attained in the UEFA Champions League.
8. Borussia Dortmund vs Juventus (1996/97)
The 1996/97 UEFA Champions League final was competed by Borussia Dortmund of Germany and Juventus of Italy. Two clubs faced off against one another for the second time, Juventus prevailed 6-1 in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup final.
From suffering from historic defeat, Borussia Dortmund took revenge on Juventus for a 3-1 beating in front of 60,000 people packed at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Juventus conceded two goals by the rival in the first half, then regained their form by a score of Alessandro Del Piero. Dortmund sustained on top with Lars Ricken’s score. The trophy was awarded to Borussia Dortmund eventually and their first winning at UEFA Champions League so far.
7. Barcelona vs Manchester United (2010/11)
The 2010/11 UEFA Champions League marked the competition between Barcelona and Manchester United for the second time after three previous seasons. Both teams were involved in the contest, which had 3-win-times in the European football competitions before.
Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium in London. Barcelona gained the upper hand during the competition while their opponent was frustrated caused by not keeping possession. Pedro, Messi, and David Villa were three marvelous kickers scoring three goals for the game. Barcelona hourly achieved the third UEFA Champions League title in their history.
6. Manchester United vs Chelsea (2007/08)
The 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final was the first time marking an all- English club final in history. The final tournament was participated by Manchester United and Chelsea, which took place in Russia.
Manchester United and Chelsea evenly matched in fierce football face-off. Consequently, the scores were equal at the end of the game. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 1 point for United while Frank Lampard got a goal for Chelsea. In the end, Manchester United defeated Chelsea with a penalty goal to achieve the UEFA Champions League title for the 2nd time to date.
5. Olympique de Marseille vs AC Milan (1992/93)
Olympique de Marseille and AC Milan played the UEFA Champion League final at the Olympiastadion in Munich. This match was the first final after this competition changed the format. This was the first time the Champion League final got one team from France. Both teams play the final with the hope to become the first champion of the UEFA Champion League.
There was only one goal, which was scored by Basile Boli, to help Marseille become the first champion of this league. This is also the only UEFA Champion League trophy of Olympique de Marseille. In addition, Olympique de Marseille is the first and only team that came from France to become champion.
4. Bayer Leverkusen vs Real Madrid (2001/02)
The UEFA Champion League Final 2002 was between Bayer Leverkusen from Germany and Real Madrid from Spain at the Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. This match saw Real Marid appear twelfth in the final while this is the first time for Bayer Leverkusen. Bayer Leverkusen had won against Liverpool and Manchester United before playing in the finals, whereas the Opponent of Real Marid in the Quarter-finals and Semi-final is Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Real Marid won 2-1 after 90 minutes by two goals from Raul Gonzalez and Zinedine Zidane. For Bayer Leverkusen, their defender Lucio, scored with a header at minute 13. This is the ninth European Cup title and their third UEFA Champion League title in five years for Real Madrid.
3. Manchester United vs Bayern Munich (1998/99)
The Champion League Final 1998/1999 saw Manchester United and Bayern Munich meet for the third time, after they were at the same group stage and two matches resulted in equal. To play in the final, MU has won Juventus while Bayern has overcome Dynamo Kyiv.
After 90 minutes and 3 minutes of overtime, Manchester United made a comeback to win Bayern Munich 2-1, respectively. Nou Camp Stadium has witnessed one of the most extreme matches in the history of the competition. Bayern scored a goal when the game had started after 6 minutes. However, at minute 90+1, Teddy Sheringham scored a goal for MU in 2 minutes after Teddy Sheringham assisted Ole Solskjaer to toe-poke a ball into the top corner of the net.
It was the first time that not only has Manchester United become the champion of the UEFA Champion League, but they also became the only football team from England winning the treble.
2. AC Milan vs Liverpool (2004/05)
The Final 2004/2005, the thirteenth final of UEFA Champion League and the fiftieth final of the highest league for top-division European clubs, has been the best final in history. The match was between Liverpool and AC Milan at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005. Liverpool participated in a Champions League final for the first time after implementing the new format. Besides, Milan was looking to lift the Champions League title for the third time.
The match resulted in draws after 120 minutes, it was a penalty kick that came to decide the champions. Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties. To be more precise, in the first half of the game, Paolo Maldini helped AC Milan take the lead when had scored a goal in the very first minutes, Hernán Crespo additionally added two more goals before break-time.
In the second half, Liverpool scored three goals within 6 minutes by Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer, and Xabi Alonso. In the penalty shoot-out, Jerzy Dudek – the goalkeeper of Liverpool had saved Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty. This trophy marked as the fifth champion in this league of Liverpool. This match also got the name “Miracle of Istanbul” because of the unbelievable Liverpool’s comeback.
1. Bayern Munich vs Chelsea (2011/12)
The 2011/12 UEFA Champions league final was the first meeting between Bayern Munich and Chelsea. It was a chance for Bayern Munich to have the advantage of playing at home.
Chelsea defeated Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties at their own stadium in front of more than 60,000 people.The intense match entered the shootout after the final score was 1-1, Bayern was given the chance to win but Arjen Robben missed the resulting spot kick. In contrast, Chelsea attained the champion title by Drogba’s successful penalty to the sorrow of the Bayern fans.
Conclusion
The UEFA Champions League is one of the most prestigious football tournaments. It’s apparent that for many teams the common goal is to win the UEFA championship. Therefore, this is one of the opportunities for you to increase your football betting options at your own pace. Fun88 offers great odds for all matches throughout the season. With fun88 bookmakers you can find all the latest odds and betting trends. Above is the list of clarified top 10 UEFA Champions League Finals so far.
