The Champions League is Europe’s crown jewel. The Champions League is the pinnacle of ultimate success. If you have won the champions league you have achieved the highest honor in club football. The stakes are high, the best clubs play against each other and everyone wants to win it!
A competition with a rich history, a competition that makes football feel like a theater, a competition unlike any other.
Now, Every UCL Campaign is special but the one that stood out and communicated everything the champions league has to say will always be the 2018/19 Campaign.
This campaign felt like a love letter from football to its fans. It captured every emotion football can make you feel. Insane comebacks, super goals, and VAR madness!
That night in Paris:
It is the round of 16 ties and Manchester United is with their interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær. They face Paris Saint-Germain next.
United lost the first leg at Old Trafford by a scoreline of 0-2. Going into the second leg, they were given a 4 percent chance of making a comeback.
With a new manager and some key players out, Solskjær and his men arrived in Paris with only hope in their hearts. Manchester United to everyone’s surprise came back and won the game 3-1. They won on the away-goal rule with Rashford scoring a penalty in the dying moments of the game.
United with half a manager and half a team pulled off the greatest heist right beneath the Eiffel Tower.
This game was only a snippet of what was to come.
The Kryptonite to Atletico Madrid:
Cristiano Ronaldo is an outstanding footballer. He needs no sales pitch to endorse his Immaculate Persona. His actions speak for themselves. The man, now with Juventus was facing a familiar Foe relevant from his time at the Spanish capital. Juventus play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16. Ronaldo’s side loses 2-0 in the first leg.
A hattrick that included an 86th min penalty sealed the deal for Juventus. We were exposed to yet another comeback. Ronaldo proved yet again to be the Kryptonite to Atletico Madrid in the 2nd leg.
The Tottenham run:
Tottenham defeated Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16. They were now in a position to play the quarterfinals against Manchester City.
The first leg ended in a 1-0 win for Tottenham at London. Fast-forward a fortnight later, the second leg kicks off. Tottenham ended up losing that game 4-3. But won on away goals.
Manchester City scored a very late goal with Raheem sterling putting the ball in the back of the net. But the goal was ruled out via a VAR intervention.
Tottenham goes through
They will now face Ajax in the semifinals. Tottenham loses 1-0 at home in the first leg. However, Lucus Moura scores a hattrick in Amsterdam a fortnight later, sealing the deal for Tottenham. Tottenham advanced to the finals thanks to a 96th-minute winner. Despite losing in the finals, no one expected them to advance that far in the tournament.
A wonderful run for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
The Ajax run:
Ajax lost the first leg of the RO-16 by a score of 2-1 in Amsterdam. They were up against the colossus, Real Madrid. To everyone’s surprise, they annihilated Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. They won the second leg 4-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
They defeated Ronaldo’s Juventus in the quarterfinals, winning 3-2 on aggregate. Ajax was widely regarded as the best team in the competition. They played excellent football, and a team full of young players is always entertaining to watch.
At last, they lost sensationally to Tottenham hotspurs. But football won.
Corner taken quickly….. Origi!
Liverpool will remember their semifinal match against Barcelona for the rest of their lives. After losing the first leg 3-0 at Camp Nou. Klopp’s team had no answer for the brilliance of Lionel Messi.
Liverpool was missing Firmino and Salah in the second leg. Nonetheless, Anfield’s magic triumphed. Liverpool won the game 4-0, winning the match 4-3 on aggregate.
Divock Origi scored the winning goal from the corner of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the dying moments of the game. Barcelona was shocked as Liverpool made the finals after a long time.
The final was the only disappointing affair for an otherwise outstanding tournament. It was the tournament of the underdogs. It was the tournament of comebacks, comebacks, and comebacks.
It will take something extraordinary to top this UCL campaign.
