Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United tussling in the Europa League final in Bilbao, we look at the history of all-English European finals in UEFA competitions.
On 21 May, Bilbao will play host to the UEFA Europa League final between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United – an all-English European final.
It’s by no means the first all-English European final, however. In fact, both clubs have featured in at least one before this season.
Here, we run through the history of all-English European finals in UEFA competition…
All-English European Finals
Wolves 2-3 Tottenham (score on agg.), 1971-72 UEFA Cup FinalManchester United 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 on pens), 2007-08 UEFA Champions League FinalChelsea 4-1 Arsenal, 2018-19 UEFA Europa League FinalTottenham Hotspur 0-2 Liverpool, 2018-19 UEFA Champions League FinalManchester City 0-1 Chelsea, 2020-21 UEFA Champions League FinalTottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United, 2024-25 Europa League Final
Wolves 2-3 Tottenham (score on aggregate)1971-72 UEFA Cup Final
Spurs were involved in – and won – the first ever all-English European final, as they came out 3-2 winners against Wolves across two legs in the 1971-72 UEFA Cup final.
The UEFA Cup, predecessor to the Europa League, implemented a two-legged final until 1997. And not only was the 1972 showpiece a novelty for the fact it had two English teams in it; it was also the first European final to have two teams from the same football association in it.
Tottenham edged the first leg 2-1 at Molineux thanks to an 87th-minute winner courtesy of Martin Chivers before a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane got the title over the line.
The fact it was a two-legged, home-and-away affair perturbed some. Wolves’ manager at the time, Bill McGarry, felt it was a missed opportunity when it wasn’t made a greater spectacle.
“It’s a great pity. I think it’s a wonderful feat by both Wolves and Tottenham to have battled their way through to the first ever European final between two English clubs. I believe we should have been playing at Wembley in midweek. And in one game, not over two legs,” he said.
He dubbed it “the forgotten final” for those very reasons.
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 on pens)2007-08 UEFA Champions League Final
There wasn’t another all-English final in European football for another 36 years – but it was worth the wait (though perhaps not for Chelsea fans).
Frank Lampard cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo’s towering header in a gruelling encounter between English football’s two major powers at the time in Moscow.
The game went to extra-time and, although Didier Drogba was sent off for getting into an altercation with Nemanja Vidic, Chelsea held on to take the game to penalties.
And they were on the brink of winning the whole thing. Ronaldo missed his spot-kick and Chelsea got to the point where they had a potentially decisive kick to win it.
But, according to then-Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelélé, captain John Terry changed the ordering of the penalty takers “at the minute” – “he tried to be a hero,” the Frenchman recently told talkSPORT.
Terry slipped as he took his penalty, the ball hitting the post. It sent the shootout to sudden death.
Anderson slammed his spot-kick beyond Petr Cech, before Salomon Kalou and Ryan Giggs then held their nerve. But Nicolas Anelka saw his effort pushed away by Edwin van der Sar to hand United their third European Cup.
Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal2018-19 UEFA Europa League Final
It may not have been the Champions League, but Chelsea did at least come out on top in their next all-English European final, beating Arsenal comfortably in Baku to win the Europa League for the second time.
All five goals were scored in the second half, with Chelsea surging into a 3-0 lead thanks to a goal apiece from Olivier Giroud, Pedro and Eden Hazard.
Alex Iwobi pulled one back for Arsenal, but Hazard put the seal on victory a few minutes later.
Defeat for Arsenal meant their long wait for another European trophy continued, having last enjoyed continental success in the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1993-94 season.
It was also Unai Emery’s first final defeat in the competition. He’d previously won three in a row with Sevilla in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Liverpool2018-19 UEFA Champions League Final
Just a few days on from Chelsea and Arsenal tussling in the Europa League final, the Champions League showpiece was also an all-English affair.
Spurs reached their first Champions League final thanks to a dramatic semi-final win over Ajax, but found themselves up against Liverpool, who’d reached that stage for the ninth time by producing their own phenomenal comeback against Barcelona.
Not only was it the second all-English European Cup/Champions League final, it was also the competition’s first final since 2013 not to feature a Spanish team.
Tottenham’s chances of success suffered a damaging blow in just the second minute, when Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead from the spot after Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handled in the area.
Liverpool eventually finished Spurs off in the 87th minute as Divock Origi struck after Mauricio Pochettino’s men had failed to clear a corner.
It was Liverpool’s sixth European Cup success and their first trophy under Jürgen Klopp.
Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea2020-21 UEFA Champions League Final
The Champions League had become Man City’s obsession. After winning practically everything else since the 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour and establishing themselves as arguably English football’s dominant force, all that remained to be won was European football’s biggest prize.
In 2021, they finally reached their first European Cup/Champions League final, beating Paris Saint-Germain – another team for whom continental glory became their Holy Grail – in the semis.
It was also City manager Pep Guardiola’s first final in the competition since he was in charge of Barcelona in 2011, presiding over a defeat of Man Utd just as he had in 2009.
Played in front of a reduced capacity at Porto’s Estádio do Dragão due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 final was a largely cagey affair.
The decisive goal arrived just before half-time, when Mason Mount released Kai Havertz one-on-one with City goalkeeper Ederson – although the latter managed to get a touch on the ball, Chelsea’s German attacker regained possession and slotted into an empty net.
Riyad Mahrez went close to a late leveller, but Chelsea got it over the line to win the competition for the second time, while City’s wait went on.
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