With so much at stake, and both sides fearful of slipping up, major finals can occasionally be stodgy affairs short on attacking initiative. But the Champions League has still produced some classic encounters in its time. With that in mind, and Saturday's meeting between Liverpool and Real Madrid shaping up nicely, here are five of the best finals since the competition was rebranded in 1992.
AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona, 1994
Barcelona were heavy favourites to win the final in Athens as a patched-up AC Milan squad was deprived of Marco van Basten, Alessandro Costacurta and Franco Baresi, while Gianluigi Lentini was only fit enough to make the bench. Despite fielding a makeshift defence, Fabio Capello’s men were able to keep Romario and Hristo Stoichkov at bay.
Two close-range finishes from Daniele Massaro had Milan two goals in front at half time and the Spanish champions facing defeat. Dejan Savicevic pounced on a mistake to grab an excellent third and Marcel Desailly strode forward confidently to complete the scoring before the hour mark. Against the odds, Johan Cruyff’s rampant Barcelona were humbled by a great team display.
Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich, 1999
During this period, Manchester United prided themselves on having a squad with four top-class strikers who each offered something different. While the intuitive partnership of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke had helped to carry them to the final, their understudies seized the chance to shine late on in Barcelona.
Heading into injury time, United were 1-0 down to Mario Basler’s early free kick and it could have been more. Mehmet Scholl and Carsten Jancker hit the woodwork as Bayern Munich seemed in complete control. But as the clock ticked down, substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored within a couple of minutes of each other to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan, 2005
This contest was all over by halftime, or so everyone thought. AC Milan swept through a shell-shocked Liverpool defence at will and took a three-goal lead into the break courtesy of Paolo Maldini’s opener and a smartly taken brace from Hernan Crespo. Important adjustments were made in the interval, with Dietmar Hamann introduced to strengthen the midfield and give Steven Gerrard more freedom going forward.
The changes worked as Gerrard’s header got Liverpool back in the game and Milan wilted during a manic six-minute period. Vladimir Smicer struck from outside the area and then Xabi Alonso converted the rebound after Dida had saved his original penalty. Following a superb extra-time save from Andriy Shevchenko, Jerzy Dudek’s heroics in the penalty shoot-out completed the most incredible comeback.
Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Dortmund, 2013
This was Jurgen Klopp’s first Champions League final and an enjoyably open game between two German heavyweights at Wembley. There was added needle to the encounter as Borussia Dortmund playmaker Mario Gotze had already agreed to join Bayern Munich at the end of the season. Missing out through injury, he watched on from the stands.
Both sides exchanged blows before Mario Mandzukic turned in the opener after 60 minutes. Dortmund rallied and Dante’s stray leg caught Marco Reus in the area, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to equalise from the spot. But having missed a couple of presentable opportunities earlier on, the irrepressible Arjen Robben nipped in to score the winner shortly before the final whistle. It was relief for Bayern after losing two finals in the previous three years.
Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid, 2014
Although the result makes this game seem like a landslide, it was anything but. In a tense clash between two local rivals on the biggest stage in club football, it was Diego Simeone’s underdogs who originally looked set for victory. They went ahead through Diego Godin’s header in the 36th minute, as Iker Casillas made a costly decision to leave his line and got nowhere near the ball.
Atletico Madrid held onto their lead until deep into injury time when Sergio Ramos popped up with a vital equaliser to rescue his side. Real Madrid turned on the style in extra time to take advantage of their opponent’s exhausted defence. Goals from Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo added an undeserved gloss to the scoreline and delivered Real’s tenth European crown.
