The Early Finals at the UCL Knockout Stages (Part 2)

 

The early finals of the Champions League knockout stages part two would bring us back to some of the best games in history.

The three early finals in the continental top flight competition took place at a later stage than the previous one. Unlike in part one, which took place in the quarterfinals, these titans had to face off in the semifinals.  Such games could have been more ideal for the summit. Yet, they had to square off earlier for the final berth. The winners in these early finals did eventually lift the trophy. Check out these chosen matches from late 1970s, late 1990s and mid 2000s.

Liverpool vs Borussia M’Gladbach (European

Cup 1977/78)

The Reds were the reigning champions at that time whereas Gladbach was their opponents in two finals, 1973 UEFA Cup and 1977 European Cup. The German side was aiming for avenging their double loss against Kenny Daglish and Co in the following encounter.

Gladbach had to struggle to see off Austria’s FC Wacker Innsburck relying on away goal rule at the quarter final by 3-3 on aggregate. Meanwhile, Liverpool eased past Benfica convincingly after crushing the Portuguese side 6-2 on aggregate in the round of eight.

The first leg was held on German soil. It was a mouthwatering game as both sides attempted to break the deadlock as soon as possible as they traded shots on target. The home side had more clear chances, three of which came from Juup Heynckes’ header. Unfortunately, Gladbach's forward was unable to capitalise on any of them before Winfred Hannes opened the scoring in the 28th minute, taking advantage of a clever tactical corner kick scenario. The Reds had to wait until the 88th minute to find the equaliser. David Johnson scored after heading the ball from Daglish's cross on the left wing. However, Rainer Bonhof’s goal from a free kick restored Gladbach’s lead. It was 2-1 for the Udo Lattek’s side.

In the second leg, Liverpool took the initiative to control the game from the start, resulting in an early lead in the sixth minute from Raymond Kennedy. Kenny Daglish doubled their lead about a half-hour later with a volley to the far side of the post. Gladbach were mainly under pressure from the English side and only had a few chances. James Case’s goal on 56^th minute finally sent the home fans into raptures at Anfield. He cut inside from the right wing and slotted it home with a powerful shot.

Bob Paisley’s men went through the final with 4-2 win on aggregate. They eventually defended their title after thumping Club Brugge 1-0 at Wembley. It was The Red’s second consecutive European Cup.

Manchester United vs Juventus (Champions

League 1998/99)

It was probably one of the most dramatic semifinals in UCL history. Manchester United was at the peak of their form with David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs Roy Keane and Andy Cole among the stars. They only went through the knockout stage as a runner-up whereas Juventus was the favourite. Carlo Ancelotti’s men were targeting for another title after losing in the summit in two consecutive seasons. Their last trophy was in 1996 when Marcelo Lippi was still in charge.

Both teams did not have an easy route to semifinal. United defeated Inter Milan 3-1 on aggregate at the quarterfinals whereas La Vecchia Signora had to strive to eliminate Olympiakos in 3-2 win on aggregate. Their duel turned out to be more intriguing than expected.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had a opportunity to host the first leg but they were frustrated almost the entire game. The Red Devils were even stunned as Antonio Conte silenced the home fans on 25^th minute. Juventus even had several more shots on goal from Filippo Inzaghi, plus Zinedine Zidane. The former sadly wasted at least three golden opportunities in the six yard box. Peter Schmeichel was able to deny two of them. United then knocked on the door at the second half but Andy Cole, Paul Scholes and David Beckham lacked of clinical finish. Roy Keane’s goal was disallowed too. However, the magic came in the final minutes. Ryan Giggs blasted the ball into the back of the net taking advantage of a rumble in the box. Manchester United was saved but the Italian side had the advantage in a 1-1 draw due to the away goal rule.

The second leg was even more dramatic. This time, Juventus did not waste too long to open the scoring. Inzaghi netted a brace in only five minutes, putting United under more pressure in the first 15 minutes of the game. Luckily, they did not have to wait too long for an equalizer. Roy Keane’s header scored a lifeline in 24^th minute before Dwight Yorke put them on a level term ten minutes later.

The English side went more confident on the second half and opted to switch the formation from 4-4-2 to 4-3-1-2 with Paul Scholes operating slightly behind the dynamic duo, Yorke and Cole Roy Keane. Juventus responded by bringing in Nicola Amoruso as the second frontman to accompany Inzaghi and changed the formation from 4-4-1-1 to 3-4-1-2. Both teams had some attempts but it was United who managed to score from Andy Cole’s strike on a close range. It was a perfect warm-up for David Beckham and Co before another dramatic victory against Bayern Munich in the summit.

Barcelona vs AC Milan (Champions League

2005/06)

It was the most highly anticipated match in the season as Barcelona was on the rise with their global star, Ronaldinho. Meanwhile, AC Milan was the runners-up in the previous edition. Carlo Ancelotti once again eyed for another final to make amends. Rossoneri advanced to the last four with two emphatic wins over Bayern and Lyon in the previous two rounds. Blaugrana, on the other hand, had to strive to beat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and Benfica previously before reaching their first semifinal in four years.

The first leg was staged in Milan. The home side had more clinical chances. Fortunately, Victor Valdes was able to deny most of them, particularly from the Ukrainian striker, Andriy Shevchenko. Blaugrana barely had a number of attempts but mostly went off target. Ronaldinho finally demonstrated his quality through his remarkable lobbed-ball assist for Ludovic Guily who bagged the only goal of the game on 57^th minute. Frank Rijkaard's team earned an unlikely narrow victory in San Siro.

The second leg was another tight affair as both sides had several chances each. Unfortunately, none was able to find the back of the net, not even Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Henrik Larsson, Deco, Kaka, Serginho or Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukrainian frontman did score but his goal was disallowed. The game ended in a stalemate which led the Catalan giant to the final for the first time since 1992. They went on lifting the trophy in the end by defeating Arsenal 2-1 in the final.