UCL 2020-21: A Tale of All-English Finals in the UEFA Champions League

Manchester City and Chelsea will be featuring in an All-English showdown in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final. Here's a look at the previous All-English Finals of the competition.

England has always been one of the driving forces of European football and the spiritual home of football boasts a total of 13 UEFA Champions League crowns and are placed second after Spain, who have the best record till date with 18 titles.

• England and Spain have both equally dominated when it comes to procuring the last two spots of the elite club competition.
• Previously it was Spain who had the best record with three All-Spanish Finals, with Real Madrid appearing on all three occasions and a total of five in European Competitions.
• 2021 UCL Final between Manchester City and Chelsea will be the third All-English Final in the competition, the second time in three years and an overall fifth in European competitions equaling the Spanish record at the same time.
• This will be Manchester City’s first appearance in the Final, with Chelsea appearing in their second ever final, previously winning it in 2012 and the only English team to appear in two All-English Finals.

Here are the highlights of the other two All English Finals of the UEFA Champions League:

Manchester United vs Chelsea- 2008 UEFA Champions League Final

Chelsea was appearing in their first-ever UCL Final at the Luzniki Stadium. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 26th minute with a header from a Wes Brown cross, but Frank Lampard equalised shortly before half-time. The second half saw Didier Drogba getting sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidic.

In the penalty shoot-out, Ronaldo missed Manchester United’s third kick, giving John Terry the chance to win the title for Chelsea, only for him to slip and hit the post. Edwin van der Sar then saved Nicolas Anelka’s effort from Chelsea’s seventh kick to secure Manchester United’s third European Cup title and the Dutch custodian was adjudged as Man of the Match.

Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspurs- 2019 UEFA Champions Final

This was the second-ever All-English Final in the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool’s second appearance in consecutive years (losing to Real Madrid by 3-1 in the previous year) and Tottenham Hotspur’s debut in the Final. Atletico Madrid’s new home, Wanda Metropolitan hosted the Final. Liverpool won 2–0, with a penalty which was converted after 106 seconds of play by Mohamed Salah and a strike by substitute Divock Origi after 87 minutes sealed Liverpool’s sixth European crown, which is the most for by an English team.

Written by: Debayan Bhattacharyya