After exchanging penalty kicks in regulation and finishing scoreless in extra time, this became the first championship game in which all goals were scored from the 12-yard line. Bayern triumphed 5-4. The UEFA Champions League final would be an all-Italian affair for the first time.
This year's match was held at St. Jakob Park in Basel on June 6. It was the second time these two clubs had met in European competition; they had previously played each other in the 1964 European Cup semifinal, where Juventus won 2-1 on aggregate. This was also the first time that both finalists were from Europe's top club league (Bundesliga vs. La Liga).
The champions entered the tournament as one of the eight seeded teams, along with Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Liverpool, Milan, Real Madrid, and Schalke 04. They were drawn into Group B with Milan, Schalke, and Dynamo Kiev.
Bayern started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Schalke before losing to Milan (3-0) and then drawing (1-1) against Dynamo. At the end of group stage, they finished third behind Schalke and Milan and thus were seeded for the knockout phase.
It was also the competition's second intra-national final, following the all-Spanish 2000 UEFA Champions League Final three years earlier. Milan won the match on penalties after the game ended 0-0 after extra time. This is therefore only the second time that a Champions League final has ended in a draw after 120 minutes of playing time.
The 2009 final was the first to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Both clubs had goals disallowed during the first round of kicks from the spot and needed two rounds to decide who would be crowned European champions for the third year running. In fact, both teams had a player sent off during the shootout: Zlatan Ibrahimović was shown his second yellow card for elbowing Cristiano Ronaldo in the face before scoring his side's fifth penalty.
This is also the first time that two Italian clubs have reached the final. Previously, only Juventus and Roma had managed to reach the latter stage.
However, this is not the first time that Milan and Internazionale have met in the final. They have already done so twice before 2002, when Milan won 2-1 after extra time. The other meeting took place in 1996 and was also a repeat of the previous season's finale. Again, Milan won but this time by a more comfortable margin - 3-1.
Bayern beat Basel, Marseille, and Real Madrid in the knockout phase (3-1 on penalties after a 3-3 aggregate score), while Chelsea defeated Napoli, Benfica, and the reigning champions Barcelona (3-2 on aggregate).
The Champions League is an annual club football competition organized by UEFA for the world's top clubs. It is the most prestigious club tournament in Europe, and the only one which allows foreign teams to compete. The English Premier League (EPL) has the most successful clubs in Europe - with five out of the last six European Cups and seven of the last nine Champions Leagues.
Chelsea were the first British team to win the European Cup, doing so in 2009. They have won more European cups than any other English club. London rivals Tottenham Hotspur have also been very successful in Europe, having reached the final three times but never winning it. Other notable names are Liverpool, who have also played in several finals without winning any. Finally, Manchester United are the only EPL club that hasn't won any European title.
Spain's last penalty taker was Fabregas, who scored the country's fifth goal via the left post. Spain won and advanced to the UEFA European Championship final for the fourth time, following victories in 1964, 1984, and 2008.
| Opponent | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| QF | France | 2–0 |
| SF | Portugal | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) |
The squad finished the season undefeated away from home, and by scoring four goals against Everton on the last day, they became the first team in league history to score in every league match. Arsenal secured the double after defeating Chelsea in the 2002 FA Cup Final 2-0. It was their second FA Cup triumph in three years.
This year's final was a repeat of the one that took place at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, in 2001. The only difference this time was that both teams were represented by their senior squads instead of youth teams. This is because League One Burnley had been relegated to the Second Division at the end of the 2001–02 season while Premier League Arsenal had managed to secure their place in the top flight by winning the Double.
Burnley went into the game as the favorites, having won the First Division title just two years earlier. But Arsenal were not to be denied as they ran out 3-1 winners. Patrick Vieira scored the only goal of the game for the Gunners in the 49th minute before Michael Owen scored twice for Manchester United in the second half. Ashley Cole got the only goal for Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup Final.
So far this season, Arsenal have won all six games they have played and have kept five consecutive clean sheets. They are currently leading the league table.
Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Germany. The winners had won every match in the group stage for only the second time in European Championship history; the previous side to accomplish so was France in 1984.
Spain will play Italy in the semifinals on Wednesday. That game is scheduled to start at 20:00 CEST (15:00 ET). The final is on Sunday, with the game starting at 16:00 CEST (11:00 ET).
Italy beat England 2-1 earlier today. The Italians will face Germany in the other semifinal. That game is set for Wednesday at 20:00 CEST (15:00 ET).
Germany beat France 3-1 earlier today. The Germans will face Spain in the other semifinal.
France beat England 2-1 earlier today. The French will face Italy in the other semifinal.
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