Liverpool lost the final in 2018, but claimed the trophy in 2019
The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s elite competition, which fields the best clubs around the continent. Winning this trophy is not an easy feat, only the best of the best stroll through the hurdles to claim the holy grail. Since its rebranding in 1992, 13 different teams have gone on to win the coveted trophy.
Chelsea are the most recent winners of the competition. The Blues defeated Manchester City in the final last season. While Chelsea will no longer be defending their title, Manchester City have another opportunity to win the trophy.
Manchester City will be looking to win the Champions League after losing to Chelsea last season
Pep Guardiola’s team are currently in the semi-finals of the competition, but will have to overcome Real Madrid for another appearance in the final.
In the history of the competition, only three teams have won the coveted trophy a season after losing the final. Let’s take a look at these three clubs and how they were able to achieve this feat.
#1 AC Milan
Italian side AC Milan were the first club to achieve this feat. The Rossoneris lost the 1992-93 final to Olympique Marseille by a lone goal from French defender Basile Boli.
Milan then built on their previous seasons success to win their fifth European cup in the 1993-94 season. The Italian giants defeated Swiss side Aarau 1-0 over two legs in the first round.
In the second round, they thrashed FC Copenhagen 7-0 on aggregate to qualify for the group stage. Fabio Capello’s side would then top a group consisting of FC Porto, Werder Bremen and Anderlecht. In the semi-final, they beat Monaco 3-0 to set up a final showdown with Barcelona, who also beat Porto by the same scoreline.
The 1993-94 final was held at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Italian striker Daniele Massaro opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and got his brace just before halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Dejan Savicevic added another for the Rossoneris.
Marcel Desailly completed the rout nine minutes later with a cool finish to make it 4-0 to Milan. No one expected such a humiliating scoreline for Barcelona as Milan were termed underdogs heading into the final.
Barcelona were a team known for their attacking prowress. They had two of the tournament’s top goalscorers – Ronald Keoman (8) and Hristo Stoichkov (7). However, Johan Cruyff’s side, which boasted of players like Romario and Pep Guardiola, were outplayed by Milan.
#2 Bayern Munich
Losing the Champions League final in your city and stadium can be a bitter experience and this was Bayern’s fate in 2012. The Bavarians lost the 2012 Champions League final to Chelsea on penalties at the Allianz Arena.
Jupp Heynckes’ side proved that getting to the final the previous season was not a fluke by making another appearance in the 2013 final and winning. This time they came up against a more familiar foe – Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund v FC Bayern Muenchen – UEFA Champions League Final
Bayern had to overcome Arsenal and Juventus in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively. They met Barcelona in the semi-final and humiliated the Catalans 7-0 across two legs.
The new Wembley Stadium was the host for that year’s final. Both sides failed to find the back of the net until the 60th minute when Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery teed up to set up Mario Mandzukic for the opener. Dortmund got the equalizer just eight minutes later, Ikay Gundogan scoring from the penalty spot after an infringement by Dante.
However, Robben would go on to make up for his mistakes against Chelsea in the previous final, scoring the winner in the 89th minute. Bayern won their 5th Champions League title and went on to win the DFB Pokal days later, completing the first-ever treble in the club’s history.
#3 Liverpool
Liverpool are the last team to win the Champions League a season after losing the final. It was 2018, and the Reds were making their first appearance in the final since 2007. They came against defending champions Real Madrid, who were on course for their third consecutive title, and lost 3-1.
The following season, the Merseyside giants went all the way to the final again. This time, it was somewhat of an easy ride over fellow English side Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitana.
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool – UEFA Champions League Final
An early penalty goal from Mohammed Salah in the first half and a late second-half strike from Divock Origi helped Liverpool to their sixth European crown. The highlight of this success was overturning a 3-0 deficit at Anfield against Barcelona in the semi-final to win 4-3 on aggregate.
