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The Last Five All-English Battles In European Cup Finals
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The Last Five All-English Battles In European Cup Finals

09/05/25 15:23

The Last Five All-English Battles In European Cup Finals

Either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur potentially winning a major trophy amidst both their bottom-half season of gloom was certainly not on many bingo cards. However, their dual success in the Europa League semi-finals last night means that a European Cup final in Bilbao will be awaiting the two English forces in late May.

Whilst these two making a European final appearance may have come as a surprise to some, it is not a debut sight – especially in recent years. Since the turn of the century, we have seen a fair few all-English European finals, in both the Europa League and the Champions League. Here are the last five of them…

Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea 2021 – UEFA Champions League

Here is the latest of the bunch and it came at the highest stage of club football. At this point in time, Manchester City had a rocky relationship with Champions League football. Since their revolutionary takeover in 2008, the formidable competition was City’s Achilles heel; prior to 2021 they had never even reached the Champions League final, despite winning numerous Premier League titles and FA Cups. Heading into this final, Guardiola’s men had already secured yet another league title as well as a trophy at Wembley Stadium in the EFL Cup.

On the other hand, Chelsea had won it before and were ready to do it all over again. The Blues had not only lost a Champions League final in 2008, on penalties to Manchester United, but also won the trophy four years later against Bayern Munich in 2012.

Despite their European experience, Thomas Tuchel’s outfit were the underdogs in this final following a disappointing league season despite spending substantial money. However, this did not go on to stop them. As both teams entertained the city of Porto, it was Chelsea who edged the game 1-0. Who other than their £70 million, labelled ‘flop’, signing Kai Havertz to seal the winner as well. Mason Mount sprayed the ball into the feet of the German, who swerved Ederson to tee up an open goal.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Liverpool 2019 – UEFA Champions League

Just two years prior to Chelsea’s triumph was another English Champions League final. This time their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur took on Liverpool at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.

Liverpool were desperate for redemption in this final, as the Reds had lost the same final the year before to Real Madrid. Also, they had just been beaten to the Premier League top spot by Man City, who finished one point greater than Klopp’s men.

Both teams had quite the journey in getting to the final. Spurs went 3-0 across both of their semi-final legs against Ajax, yet somehow Lucas Moura miraculously netted a late hat-trick to level the score and send Spurs through to the final on away goals. Similarly, Liverpool found themselves 3-0 adrift after their first leg tie to Barcelona in the semis. However, a mesmerising 4-0 comeback at Anfield booked the Reds a spot in Madrid, with the fight back being written into the history books.

As the final arrived, an early Mohamed Salah spot-kick set the tone for the match, with Liverpool doubling their lead late on from hero Divock Origi. The two goals confirmed Liverpool’s sixth Champions League win and marked the first of many trophies for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool career.

Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal 2019 – UEFA Europa League

Remarkably, 2019 featured the first time that English teams occupied all four European trophy final spots. Additionally, it was another year of European triumph for Chelsea as they took on London counterparts Arsenal in Baku, Azerbaijan.

To adjoin their Champions League success in 2012, Chelsea also won the Europa League the following year in 2013 when they conquered Portuguese Benfica in Amsterdam. As for Arsenal, this final was their second in the Europa League, as they looked to restore all hope that was lost in their 2000 Europa League final penalty shootout defeat to Galatasaray.

However, once again it was not to be for the Gunners. In fact, Chelsea ran riot in Baku – flipping a goalless first half into a 4-1 win for the Blues. On the night, goals came from Olivier Giroud, Pedro and two from Eden Hazard. Alex Iwobi also found consolation for Arsenal in the way of a beautiful second-half volley. Hazard’s two goals in this match left a bidding farewell to his beloved Chelsea, as his post-match interview hesitantly implied the Belgian’s imminent move to Real Madrid.

Chelsea manager at the time, Maurizio Sarri, also made the final his last match for the Blues. The Italian made his departure back home to Juventus, paving the way for newcomer Frank Lampard’s place in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 on Pens) 2008 – UEFA Champions League

This night in Moscow made one for the history books. It was the first ever Champions League final to host two English clubs and it was a final that brought it all. The occasion was the first ever time that Chelsea had reached this point of the competition in their history. Whereas their competitors, Manchester United, had won the Champions League twice over prior to the final, in 1999 and 1968.

A Cristiano Ronaldo thumping header broke the deadlock in the first half of the match, although it was shortly cancelled out by a trademark finish inside the box from Frank Lampard. The Blues were unable to find the net in the second half, despite entering all guns blazing. This meant that the 1-1 scoreline led to extra time and then eventually a penalty shootout, which brought all the drama.

An unlikely candidate in Cristiano Ronaldo missed the first penalty of the shootout on United’s third-round spot kicks. This resulted in a confident Chelsea tucking away all four of their opening penalties with conviction. Whilst the Reds came back with consistency after Ronaldo’s stunning miss, Chelsea came tumbling down with the rain. Homegrown captain John Terry slipped on the turf to hit the post, shortly followed by Edwin van der Sar saving Nicolas Anelka’s penalty to win the trophy.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur (Agg) 1972 – UEFA Cup

Prior to 2009, the UEFA Europa League was named the UEFA Cup. Furthermore, the final also used to be played over two legs, as shown by this 1972 final. This decider between Wolves and Spurs was the first ever all-English European tournament final.

Where the tie was orchestrated over two legs, it meant that it was not played on neutral ground as each team hosted a leg apiece. The opening match occurred at Molineux, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. A near 40,000 crowd watched upon the game, as Spurs scored a late winner to grab a 2-1 advantage heading into the second leg at home. Martin Chivers scored both goals on this night for Tottenham, which extended his season tally to 42 goals in 62 matches.

The second leg was a cagey one at White Hart Lane. One goal each in the first half saw the fixture level for the majority of the match, until Wolves could do no more when the match finished 1-1. The level scoreline meant that Spurs’ fantastic first leg display had won the tie for them, thanks to their 3-2 aggregate win.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Tom Booth

Content Writer

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