2020 UEFA Champions League final
The 2020 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, the 65th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 28th season since it was re-branded from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played on 23 August 2020 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, between French club Paris Saint-Germain, in their first European Cup final, and German club Bayern Munich having returned to the final since 2013. The match was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.
Originally, it had been scheduled to be played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on 30 May 2020. On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee chose to relocate the final to Lisbon as part of a "final-eight tournament" consisting of single-match knockout ties played in two stadiums across the city. The match was the first European premier tournament final to be played on a Sunday, and the first since 2009 to not be played on a Saturday. It was also the first final of the competition to be played after June.
Bayern Munich won the final 1–0 thanks to a 59th-minute goal scored by former Paris Saint-Germain player Kingsley Coman assisted by Joshua Kimmich, who was later selected as man of the match. Bayern secured their sixth European Cup title and second continental treble, becoming the second European men's football team to win the continental treble twice. Bayern also became the first team to claim any European competition with a 100% winning record. As winners, they earned the right to play against the winners of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup, and also qualified for the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar; Bayern went on to win both and complete a historic sextuple.
Venue
The final was originally scheduled to be played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on 30 May 2020. However, UEFA announced on 23 March 2020 that the final was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee chose to relocate the final to Lisbon as part of a "final-eight tournament" consisting of single-match knockout ties played in two stadiums across the city. The match was the first European Cup/Champions League final to be played on a Sunday and the first since 2009 to not be played on a Saturday. It was also the first final of the competition to be played after June.The UEFA Executive Committee chose the Estádio da Luz, officially known as the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, in Lisbon as the final venue at their meeting on 17 June 2020. This is the second UEFA Champions League final hosted at the stadium; the first was in 2014, when Real Madrid secured their 10th title by beating Atlético Madrid 4–1 in the first final between teams from the same city.
The home stadium of Portuguese Primeira Liga side Benfica since 2003, it was newly built to host five matches of UEFA Euro 2004, including the final. Before its demolition in 2003, to make way for the new 65,000-capacity ground, the original Estádio da Luz hosted the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup final, where Werder Bremen beat Monaco 2–0, and the second leg of the 1983 UEFA Cup final, where Anderlecht secured a 1–1 draw with Benfica to lift the trophy.
Lisbon had also staged a European Cup final in 1967, when Scottish side Celtic beat Inter Milan of Italy 2–1 at the Estádio Nacional. The Portuguese capital also hosted the 2005 UEFA Cup final at the Estádio José Alvalade, home of Benfica's local rivals and finalists Sporting CP, who lost 3–1 to CSKA Moscow.
Background
reached their first European Cup/Champions League final, becoming the fifth finalist representing France and the 41st overall. They entered the final having played 110 prior matches in the European Cup and Champions League, the most for a final debutant, surpassing Arsenal's record of 90 matches prior to their final debut in 2006. The match was the seventh final to feature a French team, and the first since Monaco in 2004. Marseille were the only French club to have won the competition, doing so in 1993. The match was the fourth time Paris Saint-Germain have appeared in the final of a UEFA competition, having previously appeared in two consecutive finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The club won the 1996 final 1–0 against Rapid Wien, before losing 1–0 against Barcelona while attempting to defend their title in 1997. PSG also featured in the 1996 UEFA Super Cup, losing 9–2 on aggregate to Juventus. Paris were attempting to become the first French team to complete a continental treble, having won Ligue 1, which was awarded to them based on PPG ratio as the season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, and the Coupe de France. The club also won the final season of the Coupe de la Ligue and the Trophée des Champions, thus winning all four domestic titles, though only the main domestic cup competition was considered for a continental treble.In eighteen matches, Paris Saint-Germain had a record of eleven wins, two draws and five losses against German clubs in European competition. PSG won all four prior knockout ties in which they met German opposition, including earlier in the season against Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 and RB Leipzig in the semi-finals.
File:Hans-Dieter Flick, Germany national football team.jpg|thumb|upright|Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick appeared in his second European Cup final, having lost as a player with Bayern in 1987.
Bayern Munich reached their eleventh European Cup/Champions League final, tying Milan for the second-most finals behind Real Madrid's 16. Most recently they appeared in the 2013 final, in which they won 2–1 against archrivals Borussia Dortmund for their fifth title. In their prior finals, Bayern Munich won on four other occasions in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 2001, and lost in 1982, 1987, 1999, 2010 and 2012. The match was Bayern's 13th overall final in European competition, having won the 1967 European Cup Winners' Cup Final 1–0 after extra time against Rangers and the 1996 UEFA Cup Final 5–1 on aggregate against Bordeaux. Bayern Munich were chasing a second treble in club history, having won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. Entering the final, Bayern are on a 20-match winning streak and undefeated in 2020, having not lost in their prior 29 matches. With their semi-final win, Bayern also tied the record for the most consecutive wins in the competition proper, as well as the most wins from the start of the competition proper, with 10. Bayern are the second team to have entered the final with a perfect winning record, after Milan in 1993, who lost to the only French winners in competition history, Marseille. Bayern are also the second club to reach the final after winning all six group stage matches, after the aforementioned Milan team in 1992–93.
Bayern Munich scored 42 goals in 10 matches during the competition prior to the final, second only to Barcelona's record of 45 goals in 16 matches during the 1999–2000 season. However, Bayern set a new record for the best goals per game ratio in competition history following their quarter-final, with 4.2 per match after their semi-final victory. Entering the final, forward Robert Lewandowski scored 15 goals in 9 matches during the Champions League season, with only Cristiano Ronaldo having scored more in a single campaign. Lewandowski also tied Ruud van Nistelrooy's mark from 2002–03 of scoring in nine consecutive Champions League matches, second only to Ronaldo's 11 from 2017–18. Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry set a record for the most prolific scoring partnership in a season with 24 combined goals, surpassing the record of 23 between Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in 2013–14. Bayern manager Hansi Flick became the 15th individual to appear in a Champions League final as both a player and manager, having played for Bayern in their loss to Porto in the 1987 final.
In 34 matches, Bayern Munich had a record of 19 wins, 5 draws and ten losses against French clubs in European competition. Bayern won six of their seven previous knockout ties against French opposition, two of which were finals, including their semi-final win over Lyon to reach the 2020 final. Bayern's only loss was 3–2 on aggregate against Saint-Étienne in the first round of the 1969–70 European Cup.
The final was the ninth meeting between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, with a record of five wins for PSG and three wins for Bayern. The fixture was the first knockout match between the sides, with all their prior meetings occurring in the Champions League group stages. The sides most recently met in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage; Paris won the first match 3–0 at home, while Bayern won the return match 3–1. As the sides were level on points, PSG won the group on head-to-head goal difference.
The match was the second European Cup final to feature a French and German team, after the 1976 final between Bayern and Saint-Étienne. Overall, it was the fourth final in European competition between teams from France and Germany, also occurring in the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup Final and the 1996 UEFA Cup Final. On all three occasions, German teams were victorious. It was also the third final in which both teams entered the match seeking a win to secure the treble, previously occurring in 2010, in which Bayern lost to Inter Milan, and 2015, when Barcelona defeated Juventus. The 1999 final, won by Manchester United, also had both finalists seeking a treble, though Bayern had not yet contested their domestic cup final. Both sides came into the final having won their domestic leagues the previous season, the first time this had happened since the 1998 final between Juventus and Real Madrid. It was also the first time since 1994 that both finalists won their domestic league in the previous and same season as reaching the final. The final was also the second to feature two German managers, after the 2013 edition with managers Jürgen Klopp for Borussia Dortmund and Jupp Heynckes for Bayern Munich.