On Saturday, the 66th edition (29th under its new re-branded format) of the UEFA Champions League finals will get underway in Portugal as Manchester City and Chelsea lock horns in a much-anticipated battle for the coveted prize. For City, the Cityzens will be hoping to win what would be their first ever European title; for Chelsea, this will be their second Champions League (and fourth overall) European prize.
The big event on May 29th will be especially interesting as both teams play in the Premier League, meaning that the winner, regardless of who it may be, will be an English representative. As of now, Spanish outfits still lead the way with 18 wins in this competition, and Real Madrid have won 13 of them, but by the time the dust settles, English teams will be narrowing that gap to 14 victories.
While it's very exciting to see a final in which both contestants come from the same nation, this is not unique. In fact, the Champions League have had multiple finals in which both finalists came from the same league, and, yes, that includes even England. Let's have a quick look at how many times this has happened over the course of the tournament's history, and when the first all-English final actually first took place.
Hint: It's a lot more recent than you may have thought.
How many UCL finals have featured teams from the same country before?
Seven. The first took place in 2000 and featured Spanish outfits Real Madrid and Valencia, which Los Blancos, not surprisingly, won 3-0. There have also been one all-Italian match, featuring Juventus and AC Milan in 2003, which the Rossoneri won on spot-kicks after a scoreless tie, and one-all German tie starring Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in 2013.
There's never been an all-French final or an all-Portuguese final. So, all in all, there have been one all-German final (2013), one all-Italian final (2003), three all-Spanish finals (2000, 2014, and 2016), and two all-English finals (2008 and 2019).
Who featured in the first all-English final?
2008. That's right. Prior to the 21st century, there was never an all-English final. On May 21, 2008, English giants Manchester United and Chelsea met up in Moscow for the first ever final featuring two teams from the Premier League. Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard both scored for their respective sides. And after 90 minutes turned into 120 minutes and a tense penalty shoot-out, the Red Devils came out on top, 6-5 on spot-kicks.
Cristiano Ronaldo played a key role during Manchester United's win over Chelsea in the first ever all-English final, which was staged in Russia back in 2008
That was the third ever final featuring two teams from the same side and the first since 2003, which also had to be decided on penalties between Juventus and Milan.
When was the second? And who featured in it?
The second all-English affair took place only two years ago in 2019, when Liverpool and Tottenham squared off in Madrid.
For Tottenham, who were then under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino, it was their first ever European Cup final. Meanwhile, for Liverpool it was their ninth final appearance, and their second consecutive one after losing to Real Madrid in the prior year. Interestingly, it marked the first Champions League final since the all-German affair in 2013 that there were no Spanish sides featuring, as all the other prior iterations either had Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, or Real Madrid taking part.
Mohamed Salah was one of the stars on the night as Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 to win their sixth UCL title in 2019. It was also the second all-English final in Champions League history
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This also was the fourth final in just the 2010s in which two teams from the same domestic association were playing in the showpiece match. However, it ended up being decided in regular time, with goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi enough to decide proceedings for Jurgen Klopp's side and earn Liverpool their sixth Champions League title and first since 2005.
And now on to the third event...
May 29, 2021 will see the eighth Champions League final with two teams from the same association. And, for starters, both Manchester City and Chelsea will be equally eager to get their hands on the biggest prize in European club football. For City, having already won the Premier League, it'd be crowning achievement after years of coming up short, while for Chelsea, who are now under Thomas Tuchel's guidance, it'd be a long time coming after winning their first title in 2012.
All in all, whoever wins on Saturday evening in Porto will be unique, that's for certain, but they won't be taking part in a historic event as that honor already belongs to the participants of the 2000 and 2008 finals.
