Manchester City and Chelsea will square off in the final of the UEFA Champions League on May 29 after Thomas Tuchel's side got the better of Real Madrid.
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The UEFA Champions League final will see two teams from the English Premier League, making it an all-England affair. Manchester City sealed their spot by beating Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on aggregate. Chelsea followed suit by beating Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate. Manchester City is playing the final for the first time while this will be Chelsea’s third appearance. Pep Guardiola will be aiming to replicate his success with Manchester City. On the other hand, Thomas Tuchel will be eyeing redemption after suffering with Paris Saint-Germain in the previous edition.
However, the presence of two Premier League clubs underlines the current strength of the league in the United Kingdom. This is the second instance in two years that the UEFA Champions League final will involve both sides from the Premier League. Here are the other instances.
From the mid-70s, it was Liverpool that dominated the tournament along with Nottingham Forest. Leeds United were the first English team to enter the final of the tournament but they lost to Bayern Munich. Liverpool won two consecutive UEFA Champions League titles in 1977 and 1978.
Nottingham Forest followed it up with wins in 1979 and 1980 while Liverpool made it three in five years with a win in 1981 against Real Madrid. Aston Villa’s win in 1982 would prove to be the last for 17 years, when Manchester United defeated Real Madrid 2-1 thanks to the exploits of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The first all-England final took place in 2007 between Manchester United and Chelsea. At the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, the match ended 1-1 after full-time and extra time. The penalty shootout went into sudden death as Manchester United won 6-5 on penalties.
Chelsea finally had redemption in 2012 when they defeated Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties. The second all-England final took place in 2019 when Liverpool took on Tottenham Hotspur. Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi scored for the Reds as they won the tournament after a gap of 40 years.
Manchester City would be aiming to win their first UEFA Champions League title. Chelsea would be looking to join Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest as the other English teams who have won the competition two times or more.
