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The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League final is set to go down this Saturday, May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris. Two juggernauts in European football, Real Madrid and Liverpool, will go toe-to-toe for another European glory.
Los Blancos are the most successful club in this competition and will be looking to win it for the 14th time. Whereas, Liverpool will be hoping to clinch their seventh title.
Liverpool and Real Madrid will clash in the Champions League final for the third time
This year's final is a repeat of the 2018 final where Real Madrid won 3-1 to lift their 13th title. The two teams also once faced off in 1981 in Paris when Liverpool won 1-0.
It is also the fifth time a Spanish and English club will meet in the final since 1992. The Spanish clubs have come out top in all four previous meetings.
On that note, let's take a look at four such Champions League finals that pitted an English club against a Spanish side.
#4 Barcelona vs Manchester United (2010-11)
The 2010-11 season was the third time an English and Spanish side met in the Champions League final. Barcelona and Manchester United faced off in the final for the second time in the competition's history.
Both teams met two seasons prior, with the Catalans edging the Red Devils 2-0. The 2020-11 final was held in England at Wembley Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's Barcelona fully dominated the game, with a ball posession of 63%. Pedro got the opener in the 27th minute, but Wayne Rooney restored parity for the Red Devils to make the score even at halftime.
Barcelona continued their dominance in the second half and scored two more goals through Lionel Messi and David Viila. Sir Alex Ferguson suffered consecutive European Cup final defeats to Guardiola and his formidable Barca team.
#3 Real Madrid vs Liverpool (2017-18)
This was the most recent Spanish-English final. The 2018 final was held at the Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv. It is one final Liverpool fans will never forget due to the way they lost out.
Mohamed Salah was subbed off in the first-half due to an injury. Karim Benzema oepned the scoring in the second half after a howler from Liverpool goalkeeper Lloris Karius. Sadio Mane equalized for the Reds but Gareth Bale scored through a stunning overhead kick to restore the lead for Los Blancos. Bale scored another long-ranger as Karius had another forgettable moment in goal.
Los Blancos defeated their English counterparts 3-1 to claim their 13th Champions League glory. They also completed their record third consecutive title win.
#2 Barcelona vs Manchester United (2008-09)
This was a season where Guardiola's team dominated both domestically and in Europe. Barcelona became the first and only Spanish team to win a treble after defeating Manchester United 2-0 in Rome in the Champions League final.
United came into the final as defending champions. The Red Devils defeated Chelsea the previous season on penalties to clinch the holy grail. They were looking to become the first side to defend their title since 1990.
However, goals from Samuel Eto'o and Messi made sure that this record was not achieved. This fixture was also Cristiano Ronaldo's last appearance for United before he joined Real Madrid that summer.
#1 Barcelona vs Arsenal (2005-06)
The 2005-06 final was the first that pitted a Spanish side against an English club since 1992. Interestingly, the venue for this final was the Stade de France, which is scheduled to host this season's final
This was Arsenal's first-ever and only Champions League final appearance till date. The Gunners became the first club from London to play in the final. However, they failed to become the first London club to clinch the title.
Arsenal's goalie Jens Lehmann was sent off after only 18 minutes, becoming the first player to be sent off in a Champions League final. Despite going a man down early on in the game, the Gunners still gave a good account of themselves in this encounter.
They took the lead in the 37th minute through Sol Campbell's header and held on till late in the game until Henrik Larsson was brought on for Barcelona. The Swedish striker combined perfectly with Eto'o and Juliano Belletti, assisting both players as Barca scored twice in four minutes to turn the tie around.
