Last 6 English teams to have won the Champions League trophy

The English teams have often found it difficult to get their hands on the Champions League trophy over the last few decades or so but there are some teams who have redefined the odds and emerged victorious.

In the 21st century only 4 English teams have managed to win the Champions League trophy on six different occasions, making the win probability very low for the Premier league teams. Thus, we often hear Europe is dominated by Spanish teams especially Real Madrid, having won the title for a record 14 times.

Liverpool (2005)

Liverpool is one of the most successful teams in the world especially in Europe, having won the Champions League title for a record 6 times. In 2005, they had beaten AC Milan in the finals of the Champions League to clinch their 5th title.

They came second in their group after previous years' runners up As Monaco. In the first knockout round they knocked Bayer Leverkusen out quite comfortably. In the quarter finals they beat Italian giants, Juventus with a 2-1 aggregate. In the semi finals they met with arch rivals, Premier League side, Chelsea and just one goal separated them.

And then in the finals they met AC Milan, who had already defeated teams like Barcelona, Manchester United and Inter Milan that season in the Champions league.

That match is often referred to as the "Miracle of Istanbul" because in that match Liverpool went 3 goals behind in the first half and no one expected them to make a comeback but miraculously they did. They made a dramatic comeback, scoring 3 goals within 6 minutes and then eventually went on to win the title over penalty shootout. They won the match 3-2 on penalties with Dudek saving Shevchenko's penalty.

It is still regarded as one of the greatest finals ever. It was Liverpool's fifth Champions League trophy which meant they were awarded the trophy permanently.

Manchester United (2008)

Manchester United is one of the greatest English teams of our generation with 3 Champions League trophies to their name. They played Chelsea in the final of 2008 at Moscow making it an all English final for the first time in the history of the competition.

They topped their group with 16 points of 6 games, defeating teams like Roma and Sporting CP in the process. In the first Round of 16 match they knocked Lyon out with the help of Ronaldo's goal in the second leg. In the Quarter finals they were again drawn against Roma and United won the match 3-0 on aggregate.

In the semi finals they met Barcelona. The first leg ended 0-0 with Ronaldo missing a penalty and in the second leg United came out on top with just one goal, thanks to Paul Scholes's amazing strike in the first half. The final was held between Manchester United and their Premier League rivals, Chelsea.

The two teams, United and Chelsea were very eager to be crowned Champions of Europe for the 3rd and the 1st times respectively. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 26th minute of the game but Frank Lampard equalised before the first half whistle was blown. The match was balanced in both of the team's favours until Didier Drogba was shown a red card for slapping Nemanja Vidic.

After 120 minutes plus some added time the teams were inseparable and it was still 1-1 which meant penalties were gonna decide the faith of the teams. It all started pretty well for both the teams in the shootout until Ronaldo missed the third penalty giving Chelsea's John Terry the chance to win the Champions league which he unfortunately couldn't take and United came back to win 6-5 on penalties, becoming the Champions of Europe for the third time and it was their last Champions league win until today.

Chelsea (2012)

In 2012, it was time for Chelsea to win the Champions League for the very first time in the history of their club. They came so close in 2008 but fell short. This time they were up against the German giants, Bayern Munich, who has won it various times and the game was to be played at their home ground, Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, so it was not going to be an easy task for the Blues.

In the group stages Chelsea came out on top acquiring 11 points in their 6 matches. In the first knockout match they were drawn against Napoli. In the first leg they got beaten by Napoli, 1-3 but in the second leg they made a great comeback in front of their home fans, defeating Napoli 4-1 in the game and won 5-4 on aggregate. They met Benfica in the quarter finals, winning both the legs against the Portuguese team and they advanced into the semi finals where they were going to play Barcelona.

The first leg was won by Chelsea by just one goal. And in the second leg with Fernando Torres's equaliser in the 90th minute of the game they defeat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate, booking their spot in the Champions League final for the second time in 4 years.

Bayern was coming into this final losing their last UCL final against Inter's treble winning side whereas Chelsea lost their first ever Champions League final against Manchester United. So it was an opportunity for both the teams for some redemption. Bayern controlled most of the match but they were still 0-0 until Thomas Muller gave them the lead in the 83rd minute of the game. The German side was convinced that it was gonna be enough because it was so late in the game but just after five minutes Didier Drogba scored a goal with a header from a corner giving Neuer no chance whatsoever

No goal was scored in the remaining minutes of the normal time or extra time of the match resulting in another penalty shootout to decide the winner of the game. It didn't start well for Chelsea but Ivica Olic's miss gave them hope and Bastian Schweinsteiger's miss gave them the advantage which Didier Drogba didn't miss out on and Chelsea defeated Bayern in their own backward, winning their first ever Champions League trophy.

Liverpool (2019)

Liverpool is the third most successful team in Champions league after AC Milan and Real Madrid having won the title for 6 times. After 2005, they played two Champions league final against AC Milan and Real Madrid only and got beaten in both of them in 2007 and 2018 respectively. And just after the defeat in Real Madrid's hands the previous year, they played their Premier league rivals, Spurs the following year, making it only the second all English final.

In the group stages they were drawn against PSG and Napoli and they came runners-up in the group stages. They faced Bayern in the Round of 16 match where they were able to beat them 3-1 on aggregate. In the quarter finals they played Porto, where they scored 6 goals over two legs, comfortably advancing into the semi final stage where they were scheduled to meet Barcelona. The first leg which was played at Camp Nou was a disaster for Liverpool. They conceded 3 goals and scored none which mean they were going to Anfield with a 3-0 aggregate deficit.

The Liverpool supporters didn't give up because they believed miracles are possible. And so did miracle arrive, Liverpool scored 4 goals that night and didn't let Barcelona score any, which meant they won the match 4-3 on aggregate and were going to play Tottenham in the Champions League final. It was a magical night at the Anfield, thanks to Trent Alexander Arnold's quickly taken corner which game Liverpool the lead in the dying seconds of the match.

The two English sides were ready to battle it out for the Champions League trophy in Madrid. It was going to be Liverpool's 6th title if they ended up winning it. Liverpool opened the scoring after just 1 minute with a Mohammed Salah penalty and Spurs never really got back into the match. With only 3 minutes remaining in the original time, Divock Origi scored another goal making it almost impossible for Spurs to make a comeback. The score remained like this till the end and Liverpool were crowned Champions of Europe once again for the 6th time.

Chelsea (2021)

After winning the 2012 Champions League final in Germany, Chelsea hadn't really challenged for the title let alone be in the finals. Although they did win the Europa League a couple of times but that was it. So 2021 was the perfect opportunity for them to win it for the second time against English rivals and then, Premier league winners, Manchester City.

They were drawn in Group E where they played against Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes and comfortably topped the group. In the Round of 16 match they met Atletico Madrid and knocked them out by scoring 3 goals over two legs against all odds. In the quarter finals they played against Porto, a relatively easier team to play against but with the managerial changes at that time it was never going to be a walk in the park but Chelsea won that match by 2 goals to one.

The semi final match was against the European giants in the name of Real Madrid. The first leg at Madrid ended up in a frustrating draw with both teams scoring one goal each. But in the second leg, at Stamford Bridge Chelsea defeated Real Madrid by two goals. And after watching that match the viewers for the first time in the tournament saw Chelsea as a threatening competitor. But the job was not done yet for Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea, in the final game of the tournament they were to face Manchester City.

The final was played in Porto with only 14,110 people in the stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic. Chelsea went into the finals as underdogs, no one expected Manchester City to get beaten by Chelsea because such was their reputation at that moment. But we all knew anything could happen in the Champions League final, stranger things have happened on this stage and it was another one of those occasions. Chelsea's Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the match giving Chelsea the lead, late in the first half of the game and Manchester City couldn't come up with any comeback despite dominating most of the game.

And so after the referee blew his whistle Chelsea won the Champions League trophy for the second time after 9 years.

Manchester City (2023)

The most recent English team who have won the Champions League trophy was Manchester City. They were only the second team to do it, the first being Manchester United in the year 1999. They came so close a couple of times but this year they finally did it. The team they did it with is one of the best English teams ever.

Manchester City started their Champions League campaign against Sevilla in the group stages. They scored 4 goals against the Spanish side and showed proper intent. No team caused City any trouble in the group stages so they cruised past them comfortably and got 14 points out of the possible 18. In the first knockout round they met RB Leipzig. The first leg ended in a draw but the second leg was a goal fest for City, they scored 7 goals out of which Erling Haaland scored 5 of them.

The quarter final was to happen between City and another German team, Bayern Munich. Manchester City scoring 4 goals in reply to their 1 showed how dominanting City can be and advanced into the semi finals where they met Real Madrid, the team which has caused City the most trouble in recent years but that was all about to change. In the first leg both the teams scored one goal each, thanks to Vinicius Junior's quality strike from outside of the box and Kevin De Bruyne's wonder strike. But in the second leg, Manchester City completely dominated Real Madrid at The Etihad and won the game 5-1 on aggregate.

In the final game of the season, Manchester City met Inter Milan in the Champions league final in Istanbul, Turkey. City was under more pressure because they were also competing for the treble, having lost the final before made them a little bit anxious which as reflected in the early parts of the game. It was a game of tactical brilliance between the managers. Both of them's tactics cancelled each other out. It was a well balanced game until Rodri gave City the lead in the 68th minute of the game. He scored a brilliant goal and won City their maiden Champions League trophy.

It was Pep Guardiola's second treble with two different clubs, he was the first manager ever to reach such heights in the game.