Chapter 721: The Premier League's Golden Era
In the 48th minute, Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek combined beautifully, with Tadić being tripped by João Cancelo. The referee awarded Cancelo a yellow card and gave Ajax a well-placed direct free kick.
Hakim Ziyech stepped up to take the free kick, aiming for the top corner, but Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea anticipated correctly, catching the ball cleanly without much trouble.
Ajax continued to launch frequent attacks, while Manchester United remained steadfast in their defensive third.
For the first ten minutes of the second half, United didn't register a single shot, focusing entirely on defense to withstand Ajax's relentless pressure. Even Bruno Fernandes, the team's attacking midfielder, dropped back into United's 30-meter zone to assist in defense. Ajax's attacking presence made United's penalty area a constant danger zone.
However, persistent attacks inevitably revealed vulnerabilities.
In the 56th minute, Fernandes tightly marked Lasse Schöne, and N'Golo Kanté lunged in with a sliding tackle, dispossessing Schöne. João Cancelo quickly surged forward on the right, retrieving the ball and passing it to Fernandes before continuing his run down the flank.
Fernandes, recognizing the play, returned the ball to Cancelo in stride.
"Manchester United launches a rapid counterattack down the right flank! A brilliant one-two between Bruno Fernandes and João Cancelo!"
Cancelo sprinted down the right wing, closely pursued by Nicolás Tagliafico. Fernandes trailed slightly behind Cancelo, shifting toward the center to maintain an advantageous position.
Despite Cancelo's speed, Tagliafico stuck close, preventing him from cutting inside. However, Cancelo pushed forward to the right edge of the penalty area and whipped in a cross.
The ball sailed toward the right side of the penalty spot, where Kylian Mbappé, breaking free from Daley Blind, volleyed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Goal!
Manchester United equalized, making it 2-2.
Not content with a draw, United maintained an aggressive approach, pushing forward relentlessly. Most of their attacks came down the right flank, where Mbappé and Cancelo wreaked havoc, often joined by Fernandes. The trio dominated Ajax's left side.
The Mbappé-Cancelo partnership, a feared combination in the Premier League, naturally became United's primary offensive strategy. Yet, Ajax coach Erik ten Hag couldn't help but feel uneasy about their approach.
In the 71st minute, Fernandes exploited an open space on the right and drew Ajax's defense toward him. Suddenly, he launched a long cross-field pass to the left wing.
Luke Shaw surged forward, controlling the ball with his chest near the sideline. Combining with Marcus Rashford, Shaw executed a flawless one-two before delivering a low pass to the edge of the box.
Mbappé, arriving in stride, unleashed a powerful strike from the top of the arc, finding the back of the net once more.
Mbappé's brace gave United a 3-2 lead, which turned out to be the final score. Despite moments of danger on both ends, neither team added to the tally.
With this result, Manchester United defeated Ajax 3-2 away from home and advanced to the Champions League final with a 5-3 aggregate victory.
United would face Liverpool in the final, marking a historic all-English showdown.
This was the first time in 11 years that two Premier League clubs would meet in the Champions League final. The last such instance was in the 2007-2008 season, when United faced Chelsea in Moscow.
United also reached consecutive finals for the first time in a decade, the last being in 2009 and 2010.
The Legacy of Undefeated Champions
The Champions League, with its shorter schedule compared to domestic leagues, has historically seen several undefeated champions.
So far, nine clubs have achieved this feat across fourteen occasions:
Manchester United leads with three undefeated campaigns:1998-1999 (6 wins, 6 draws)2007-2008 (9 wins, 4 draws)2017-2018 (10 wins, 3 draws)
If United wins this season, it would mark their fourth undefeated title, solidifying their dominance.
Liverpool has done it twice:1980-1981 (6 wins, 3 draws)1983-1984 (7 wins, 2 draws)
A win this season would bring Liverpool their third undefeated title.
AC Milan also boasts two such campaigns:1988-1989 (5 wins, 4 draws)1993-1994 (7 wins, 5 draws)Ajax achieved this twice as well:1971-1972 (7 wins, 2 draws)1994-1995 (7 wins, 4 draws)Inter Milan (1963-1964, 7 wins, 2 draws), Nottingham Forest (1978-1979, 6 wins, 3 draws), Red Star Belgrade (1990-1991, 5 wins, 4 draws), Marseille (1992-1993, 7 wins, 4 draws), and Barcelona (2005-2006, 9 wins, 4 draws) each achieved the feat once.
This year's final promises to be a showdown for the ages, as both Manchester United and Liverpool vie for supremacy, not just for the Champions League trophy but also for the historical prestige of an undefeated campaign.
Looking at the history of undefeated Champions League winners, it is evident that such instances were more frequent before the tournament's reformatting in 1992. Before the restructuring, there were seven occurrences, while only six have occurred since.
From Marseille's undefeated triumph in 1992-1993 to AC Milan in 1993-1994 and Ajax in 1994-1995, the early years of the reform showed that top clubs held significant advantages.
However, as the Champions League expanded in scale and competition grew fiercer, consecutive undefeated champions became a rarity. After 1995, there was a streak of winners who experienced defeats until Manchester United's treble-winning campaign in 1998-1999, where they achieved an undefeated title run.
Notably, two of Europe's most successful clubs, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, have never secured a Champions League title without at least one loss. Real Madrid's record 12 titles and Bayern Munich's 5 titles all involved matches in which they suffered defeats.
In contrast, Manchester United, with only four Champions League titles, has won three of them undefeated. Only their first triumph in 1967-1968 included a loss, when they registered 5 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss, a 0-1 away defeat to Polish side Górnik Zabrze.
A Historic Opportunity for Manchester United
This season, Manchester United has played 12 Champions League matches and remains undefeated, securing 12 consecutive victories.
A win against Liverpool in the final would make United the first team in Champions League history to claim the title with a perfect record. This feat, unprecedented in the competition's 64-year history, would cement their legacy further.
Champions League Record Holders
Manchester United already holds numerous records in the Champions League:
Longest Unbeaten Run:
Between the 2007-2008 group stage and the 2008-2009 semi-finals, United went 25 consecutive matches without a defeat. This record, which stood for 11 years, was recently tied by the current United team.Longest Winning Streak:
Starting from last season's semi-final victory over Manchester City (3-0), United has achieved 15 consecutive wins, extending their record further.Longest Home Winning Streak:
United set this record with 12 consecutive home wins during the 2006-2008 period. They have now tied this record again, starting from their 6-0 group-stage win against Qarabağ last season.Longest Away Unbeaten Streak:
United's record of 16 unbeaten away matches in the Champions League remains unmatched.
An All-English Affair in Europe
One day after United's triumph, Chelsea hosted Frankfurt and drew 1-1, ultimately advancing to the Europa League final after a 4-3 penalty shootout victory. Meanwhile, Arsenal defeated Valencia 4-2 away, completing a 7-3 aggregate victory to set up a Europa League final against Chelsea.
This marks the 10th time in Europa League history that two teams from the same league will contest the final. However, it is the first time two clubs from the same city—London—will compete for the Europa League title.
This season has also made history as the first time ever that teams from the same country—England—have claimed all four spots in the Champions League and Europa League finals.
In both competitions, it's the second time English teams have met in the finals:
Champions League: Manchester United vs. Chelsea in 2008.Europa League: Arsenal vs. Chelsea in 2019.
In comparison, Spanish teams have contested three Champions League finals, while Italian teams lead the Europa League with four final clashes. Overall, Spanish and Italian clubs have each featured in five all-domestic finals across both tournaments.
The Madrid rivals, Real and Atlético, hold the record for the most domestic clashes in European finals, appearing together three times.
A Premier League Renaissance
Chelsea summed it up perfectly on their social media:
"The Premier League is the best league in the world. Any questions?"
This season, not only did the Premier League dominate the finals, but all six English teams performed impressively in Europe.
Manchester City reached the Champions League quarter-finals.Tottenham advanced to the semi-finals.Only Burnley, eliminated in the Europa League qualifiers, failed to progress further.
Moreover, no team from another league managed to eliminate a Premier League side during the main stages of European competitions. Manchester City fell to Tottenham, who in turn lost to Liverpool.
This dominance underscores the unparalleled strength of the Premier League, cementing its supremacy in European football.
The influence of the Premier League's Big Six extends far beyond England, resonating across the European stage. This is undeniably the Golden Era of English Football.
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