Top 10 Champions League Finals

The Champions League is one of the most decorated tournaments for football clubs and this year, Real Madrid and Liverpool face off each other in the final for the first time since 1981, with the latter emerging victorious.

Real Madrid are the current holders of the cup and are the only team to have won it back-to-back since the name changed from European Cup to Champions League.

The Spanish side is looking to win the tournament for a record 13th time whereas Liverpool are seeking the sixth in their history.

We have witnessed a lot of specular finals, amazing comebacks, clubs defying all odds and some mouth-watering clashes in the past. This year should be no exception.

Without further much ado, let us look back and relive some of the amazing nights ahead of the final this weekend.

psstt....most of us wouldn't have watched the games on this list, live, but as the saying goes Old is gold, some of the games back in the past were truly amazing.

So get comfortable, cause this could take you some time.

P.S. This list consists of matches since the competition was founded. Back then, it was referred to as 'European Cup'.

#10 Celtic 2-1 Inter Milan: 1967, Lisbon

It was the year when Celtic had completely dominated the Scottish league. They had won the league, the League Cup and the Scottish Cup and they were about to play their most important game of the season.

Inter Milan, the 2 times champions, were looking to add another European glory, but it was not to be this time. The Italian side took an early lead but Celtic's attacking display was too much for the defensive-minded Inter.

Inter were up at the half-way mark but goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers in the second half sealed the deal for the Scottish club.

"We did it by playing football; pure, beautiful, inventive football," Celtic coach Jock Stein said afterwards. "There was not a negative thought in our heads."

Welcome To The Party...Celtic

#9 Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich: 1999, Camp Nou

United won the Champions League in the most dramatic fashion ever

This was the game which was won by the two substitutions made towards the end of the game. Having already secured the double, United were looking to add the Champions League to win their first treble.

The German club scored early on in the game and it looked like the game was all over but Sir Alex Ferguson's 2 substitutes, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, did the trick.

Sheringham first made sure that the game was not over yet for the Red Devils. His strike from the close range ensured that the game could at least go on to extra time.

If Bayern thought they could win the game in extra time, they had another thing coming. The clock struck 93' and it appeared to be the final kick of the match. Beckham takes the corner and the ball finds Solskjaer who then strikes the ball in the far post to win the game for United.

"Football, bloody hell," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said on the final whistle

Speechless

#8 Benfica 5-3 Real Madrid: 1962, Olympisch Stadion

Real Madrid were on a mission - a mission to win back the European Cup having previously won it 5 times in a row.

Benfica had managed to successful dethrone the Spanish side the previous year to win the Cup, thus setting up a final between the only 2 clubs to have won the European Cup since the competition was founded in 1956.

Madrid were already 2 goals up by the 23rd minute and it all seemed to be going their way. The Portuguese side came from behind to lead 2-3 but Real were determined to win back the trophy and scored another to level things 3-3.

Eusebio, the 20-year-old Benfica youngster had other ideas. He went on to score a brace, a very decisive one, which saw Benfica retain the cup.

However, shortly after this, Benfica coach, Bela Guttman left the club due to a pay dispute with the ever famous parting shot:

"Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champion."

Curse, superstition, black magic...call it what you may, but Benfica are yet to win a European Cup since then. (Wake me up when its all over...some Benfica fans might be signing)

It was Men (Real Madrid) vs Boys (Benfica)...and the Boys won.

7) AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona: 1994, Olympic stadium

Milan w — Milan entered the finals being the underdogs and surprised the whole world

Milan entered the Champions League final having lost their last 6 league games. Many had already written off the Seria A club and had even said that the game was a mere formality.

The star-studded Barcelona boasted the likes of Romario, Hristo Stoichkov and Pep Guardiola with manager Johan Cruyff. The Spanish side was looking to win their 2nd European title in 3 years.

Meanwhile, Milan were missing the likes of Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta due to suspension while Marco van Basten and Gianluigi Lentini were out injured.

And when the game began, people couldn't believe what they were watching. Milan dominated the game and scored 4 goals thanks to Dejan Savicevic, Marcel Desailly and a brace from Daniele Massaro.

The Seria A club had taken everyone by surprise that day by dominating the "Dream Team" of Barcelona. That's it, within an hour, the game was done and dusted and no one had predicted this result.

"It was not that we played badly," Cruyff said afterwards. "It was that we did not play at all."

All The Stars... and yet Barcelona lost!

6) AC Milan 4-1 Ajax: 1969, Santiago Bernabeu

In 1969, Ajax became the first ever Dutch club to be in a European Cup final but couldn't win the trophy that year.

Having the likes of Johan Cruyff at their disposal, Ajax were still the underdogs and rightly so. Facing AC Milan at that time was no joke. They were the team to be feared of as they had knocked out the previous two cup holders on their way to finals - Celtic in the quarter-finals and Manchester United in the semi-finals.

Ajax were completely blown away by Milan as the Italian side was 2 goals up in the first half. What else would you expect when you have the likes of Gianni Rivera and Pierino Prati in your attack.

Prati then went on to score a hattrick, the only player to so in the final till date and Milan comfortably won their 2nd European Cup.

Ajax did go on and win 3 consecutive European Cup from 1971 to 1973 but that night belonged to the Italian club.

AC Milan were just too hot for Ajax

5) Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea (3-4 Penalties): 2012, Allianz Arena

Arguably the best night for any Chelsea fan, the Blues did the unthinkable - winning the Champions League. It all started with the comeback against Napoli in the Quarter-Finals.

Since that game, there had been no looking back as the Blues when on to beat Barcelona in Camp Nou in the semis. And when they set up a date with Bayern in the finals, everyone had already written off Chelsea saying it was next to impossible to beat the German club on their own turf.

Bayern started the game threatening to score right from the beginning but only managed to score 1 thanks to Muller's header. Drogba's header in the final 10 minutes assured that the game went to the extra time.

Cech then made a decisive penalty save to give his side a chance to still win their first ever Champions League.

The game went to penalties and the rest, as they say, is history.

Defying all odds

4) Real Madrid 4-3 Stade de Reims: 1956, Parc des Princes

The first ever European Cup final was played between Real Madrid and the French club, Stade de Reims in the Parc des Princes stadium. The first tournament final lived up to the hype as both the teams scored a total of 7 goals and the match kept going back-and-forth like a yo-yo.

Stade de Remis scored twice in the opening 10 minutes but Real levelled back. All this in the first 30 minutes.

Reims took back the lead but Madrid were determined to win the final. They got their hands on the first ever European Cup thanks to Marquitos' equaliser and Rial's brace.

The best possible final to the very first tournament.

3) Manchester United 4-1 Benfica: 1968, Wembley

United became the 1st English side to win the European Cup

With this victory, Manchester United became the first ever English side to win the European Cup. But more importantly, this triumph marked a decade since the Munich Air disaster.

That disaster had ripped United of their core team and Matt Busby had the task of rebuilding the team with Bobby Charlton, another survivor of the accident.

The match headed to extra time as the scoreboard read 1-1. 3 goals in the extra time did the trick for the Reds.

Rewrite The Stars

2) Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid (5-3 Penalties): 2016, San Siro

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty to give his side the 11th Champions League trophy and yet again defeat their local rivals.

Looking back 2 years ago, Atletico were defeated in the Champions League finals to the same opponent thanks to Sergio Ramos' equaliser as the club went on to win 'La Decima'.

Ramos gave his side the lead in the first half but Yannick Carrasco, who came on as a substitute equalised for his side as the game went to extra time and subsequently to penalties where Atletico lost.

Real Madrid: Clubs Can't Handle Me

1) Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan (3-2 Penalties): 2005, Istanbul

Probably one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League finals ever. The Reds started the game in the worst possible fashion ever - going a goal down in the very first minute. The Italian side then tore apart the English club and were already 3 goals up after the end of the first half.

One would have believed that the game was over but Liverpool had other plans. They made a spectacular comeback in the 2nd half thanks to goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso and forced the game to go to penalties where the Reds won.

Least we forget the outstanding performance from Jerzy Dudek in the goal.

What happened in the 2nd half was beyond words and the Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti put it rightly: