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The UEFA Champions League is the blue riband event of European club football. Formerly called the European Cup, the UEFA Champions League (1992-93 onwards) has been graced by 141 different clubs from 33 different UEFA member associations.
Real Madrid (13) lead a group of 22 clubs to have won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League. 18 other clubs have reached the final of the competition, without managing to lay their hands on the trophy.
The record winners are also the only club in the Champions League era to win titles in consecutive years, when they went three-in-a-row (2015-17) to become the first team since Bayern Munich in 1976 to win three consecutive titles in as many years.
Paulo Maldini and Cristiano Ronaldo (6 apiece) hold the record for most Champions League finals, with Maldini doing so for one club (AC Milan). Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for being the only player to score in Champions League for two different winning teams (2008 - Manchester United; 2014, 2017 - Real Madrid).
In the 27 previous Champions League finals (1992 to 2018), teams from the same league have contested the title match in 2000 (Madrid beat Valencia), 2003 (AC Milan beat Juventus), 2008 (Manchester United beat Chelsea), 2013 (Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund), 2014 and 2016 (Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid). On that note, let us re-live the 5 most memorable Champions League finals.
#5: 2014: Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 4-1
The 2014 Champions League final in Lisbon marked the first time two teams from the same city contested the title match. In their first final in the competition in 40 years, newly-crowned La Liga champions Atletico Madrid faced cross-town rivals and record-9-time winners Real Madrid who were in their first Champions League final since lifting their 9th title in 2002.
After Gareth Bale had narrowly shot wide, Atletico captain Diego Godin capitalised on an error from his Real counterpart at the other end to open the scoring just past the half-hour mark. It was a lead the Rojiblancos would fiercely protect till the third minute of second-half stoppage time when Sergio Ramos leapt to beat the Atletico keeper Thibaut Courtois with a header to the far post.
There was little inkling of what was to come as the teams headed to extra time. With ten minutes to go before a penalty shootout, Di Maraud's marauding run down the left resulted in a shot at goal which was foiled by Courtois. The richochet fell to an unmarked Gareth Bale at the far post who slotted the ball into an unguarded net as Real led for the first time in the match.
Any hopes of an Atletico comeback were quickly doused by Marcelo who added Real's third of the game two minutes from time before Cristiano Ronaldo scored his record-extending 17th goal of the campaign from the penalty spot to rubber-stamp Real's La Decima win.
Also check out: Champions League Schedule Champions League table Champions league top scorers
# 4: 2016: Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid (1-1 AET) on penalties
Two years after Real beat Atletico in the 2014 final in Lisbon, the two crosstown rivals met in the 2016 Champions League final at the San Siro in Milan.
Unlike two years ago, it was Real who opened the scoring courtesy Sergio Ramos at the quarter-hour mark. Real's attacking BBC trifecta of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo looked impressive in attack but didn't hesitate to put in the dirty work by dropping deep to cut off the supply to the Atletico frontline as the Bernabeu side led 1-0 at the break.
It looked like it would be Real's night when Antoinne Greizmann blazed a second-half penalty into the woodwork but Belgian Yannick Carrasco's composed finish ten minutes from time brought about a deserved equaliser for the hardworking Rojiblancos. For the second time in three years, a Real-Atletico Champions League final would need extra-time.
There were no goals from either side in the thirty extra minutes before a penalty shootout materialised. The first seven players all scored before Atletco's Juanfran hit the post, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to step up and score the winning spotkick to seal an 'undecima' for the Bernabeu club as Atletico became the first side to lose their first three Champions League finals (also 1974, 2014).
# 3: 1994: AC Milan beat Barcelona 4-0
Having won their 4th Liga title on the trot, Barcelona were the favourites to lift their second Champions League in three years when they faced AC Milan in the 1994 final in Athens.
Milan hardly had the ideal build-up to the title match, with their star striker Marco Van Basten a long-term absentee due to injury, the world's then most-expensive footballer, midfielder Gianluigi Lentini was also out injured, and captain Franco Baresi and defender Alessandro Costacurta were both suspended for the final.
It was the unfancied Milan side which started strongly as the match got underway, as Daniele Massano opened the scoring and doubled the Italian team's lead on the cusp of halftime.
Two minutes into the second period, the excellent Dejan Savisevic produced a brilliant lob to beat the Barcelona keeper Andoni Zubizarreta. The match ceased to be a contest when Marcel Dessaily beat the off-side trap to score Milan's fourth of the night as the Rossoneri lifted their 5th European Cup / Champions League title in their 7th final.
# 2: 1999: Manchester United beat Bayern Munich 2-1
On a day their only other European Cup winning manager Sir Matt Busby would have celebrated his 90th birthday, Manchester United faced Germany's Bayern Munich in the 1999 final at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.
Mario Basler's 5th minute opener meant that United trailed for the fourth time in a Champions League match that season.
Dwight Yorke shot wide and David Beckham's freekick was cleared away by Bayern captain Lothar Matthaus as the English side sought a way back into the match. Bayern looked content to sit back, soak up the pressure, and hit on the counter. The strategy almost paid dividends as United struggled to carve out clear-cut scoring opportunities and Basler almost put the game to bed, when his shot off a counterattack smacked against the woodwork much to the relief of the United keeper Peter Schmeichel.
Bayern had another opportunity to double their advantage when Basler's superb run released Scholl but the resultant chip over rebounded off the post and back into the grateful arms of Peter Schmeichel. An overhead kick from Jancker again found the United woodwork, with Schmeichel well beaten but it looked like despite their profligacy, Bayern had done enough to hold on to their slender lead as the game entered extra time.
Subsitute Teddy Sheringham scored off a corner to seemingly force extra time. Off another Beckham corner, Sheringham's chip fell kindly to Ole Gunnar Solkjaer who slotted the ball into the Bayern net to spark wild celebrations among the English club faithful as Bayern were left to wonder what might have been.
With the win, United achieved the first-ever treble (League, league Cup, European Cup) by an English club.
# 5: 2005: Liverpool beat AC Milan (3-3 AET) on penalties
2003 winners AC Milan looked on course for their seventh UEFA Champions League title when Paolo Maldini scored a rare right-footed goal in the opening minute of the 2004-05 final against Liverpool in Istanbul.
It was Maldini's first goal in the competition in 11 years, and only the third overall, as the Italian centre-back recorded the fastest goal in a Champions League final. Argentinian striker Hernan Crespo then netted twice in the space of five minutes as Milan went to the break with a commanding 3-0 advantage.
A resurgent Liverpool responded with three goals in the space of six second-half minutes. Steven Gerrard (53rd minute), Vladimir Smicer (56th minute) and Xabi Alonso's penalty at the hour-mark cancelled out Milan's three-goal advantage.
Liverpool custodian Jerzy Dudek pulled off two spectacular point-blank range saves in extra-time to deny Milan forward Andriy Shevchenko as a penalty shootout ensued. Dudek was not done for the night though.
The Polish keeper repelled efforts from Andrea Pirlo and Shevchenko as Liverpool celebrated one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history en route to their 5th title in the competition.
Also read: 5 greatest comebacks in the UEFA Champions League.
