England Quartet Plays Finals

The English Premier League has provided a novelty in the history of the European Cup. For the first time all participants of the finals come from one country.

Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC will play in the Champions League final in Madrid on 1 June, while Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC will face each other in the Europa League final on 29 May.

Three finalists from one city, as now provided by London with Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal, are also a novelty.

Three finalists from one country were last played by Spanish clubs in 2013/14 and 2015/16, when Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and FC Sevilla in the Europa League. Until 1999 there was a third competition, the European Cup of Cup Winners, which was stopped after that, and three (out of six) finalists were the maximum also in this era.

In the history of the Europa League (since 2009/10), it is only the second time that there has been a national final since FC Porto won against Sporting Braga in 2011. Since the “small” European Cup was decided in just one final, there has been only one more internal final: At its premiere in 1997/98, Inter Milan won the UEFA Cup against Lazio Rome.