The Greatest Champions League Finals of All Time

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The UEFA Champions League has served up some unforgettable finals over the years, as Europe’s premier club competition invariably finishes with a thrilling showpiece every season.

From Manchester United’s last-gasp victory over Bayern Munich in 1999 to Liverpool’s remarkable comeback against AC Milan in 2005, here are the best Champions League finals in history.

Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan (Liverpool Win 3-2 on Penalties) – 2005

The 2005 final is arguably the most memorable showpiece in Champions League history, as Liverpool came from 3-0 down to force extra time before defeating Italian giants AC Milan on penalties.

Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool looked dead and buried at half time, but second-half goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso turned the game on its head. After extra time, Reds goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek proved to be the hero.

Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich – 1999

Bayern Munich already had one hand of the trophy as they led Manchester United 1-0 in the 1999 Champions League final.

Heading into second-half stoppage time, Mario Basler’s goal looked set to hand the Bavarians the title.

However, the Red Devils had other ideas. Teddy Sheringham equalised in the 91st minute before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the winner in the 93rd minute, sending the Man Utd fans inside Barcelona’s Camp Nou into meltdown.

Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid – 2014

The 2014 Champions League final saw cross-city rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid lock horns at Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz.

Atletico found themselves 1-0 up in the dying seconds, only for Sergio Ramos to equalise and send the showdown into extra time.

Ultimately, Los Blancos turned on the style during extra time, with goals from Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo taking the contest away from Diego Simeone’s side.

Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (Manchester United Win 6-5 on Penalties) – 2008

Six years before Ronaldo scored in the 2014 Champions League final, the Portuguese megastar found the back of the net as Man Utd played out a 1-1 draw with Premier League rivals Chelsea in Moscow.

After extra time, both sides scored four of their first five penalties, but Chelsea’s John Terry slipped before missing his spot kick.

Subsequently, United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka’s penalty to hand his team the trophy.