For the first time in history, English clubs have reached the finals of three different European competitions in the same season. Watched by millions on Hesgoal TV, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace joined Arsenal last night in the finals of their respective UEFA competitions.
Arsenal became the first finalists of the three by securing their place in the Champions League final with a 2-1 aggregate victory against Atletico Madrid in midweek.
Aston Villa and Crystal Palace followed suit, qualifying for the finals of the Europa League and the Conference League, respectively.
Unai Emery’s Villa side overturned a 1-0 first-leg defeat to thrash fellow Premier League club Nottingham Forest 4-1 on aggregate, setting up a Europa League final meeting with Bundesliga side Freiburg.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace secured their place in the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano, following a 2-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Arsenal, Villa and Palace make history
The feat of reaching all three finals was nearly achieved last season when Chelsea won the Conference League, and Tottenham beat Manchester United in the Europa League final. However, Arsenal, the last English team left in the Champions League, were beaten by eventual winners Paris St-Germain in the final four.
This season, the Gunners have gone one step further, setting up a chance for revenge against PSG in the Champions League final, meaning that all three teams in the finals will be from the Premier League.
The English top flight has long had a strong presence in European finals. In 2021, Chelsea defeated Manchester City in an all-Premier League Champions League final, while Manchester United lost in the Europa League final. In 2019, Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final, and Chelsea defeated Arsenal in the Europa League final, another year when English clubs dominated the finals.
However, the last time English clubs won two of the three available competitions was over 20 years ago. In 1984, Liverpool claimed a fourth European Cup by defeating Roma, and Spurs defeated Anderlecht to win the UEFA Cup for a second time.
Have other countries managed this…
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