2020 UEFA Champions League Final

The 2020 UEFA Champions League Final will be 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 renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It will be 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 in pursuit of a treble, and the winner of the second semi-final, Lyon or Bayern Munich. The match will be held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[1]

2020 UEFA Champions League Final
Event2019–20 UEFA Champions League
Paris Saint-Germain Winners of SF1
Date23 August 2020 (2020-08-23)
VenueEstádio da Luz, Lisbon
Attendance0[note 1]

The final was originally scheduled to be played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on 30 May 2020.[2] However, UEFA announced on 23 March 2020 that the final was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] 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.[4] The match will be the first ever European Cup/Champions League final to be played on a Sunday, and the first since 2009 to not be played on a Saturday. It will also be the first ever final of the competition to be played after June.

The winners will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup. They will also qualify to enter the group stage of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, and if they have already qualified through their league performance, the berth reserved will be given to the first-placed team of the abandoned 2019–20 Eredivisie (Ajax), the 11th-ranked association according to next season's access list.[5]

Teams

In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era, since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era.

Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Paris Saint-Germain None
Winners of SF1

Venue
For the details on the selection of Istanbul as the original host for the final, see 2021 UEFA Champions League Final § Host selection.
The Estádio da Luz in Lisbon will host the final.

The UEFA Executive Committee chose the venue – officially known as the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica – at their meeting on 17 June 2020.[4] 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 ever final between teams from the same city.

The home stadium of Portuguese Primeira Liga side Benfica since 2003, it was rebuilt 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.[6]

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.[6]

Background

Paris Saint-Germain reached their first ever Champions League final, becoming the 5th unique finalist from France and the 41st overall. They entered the final having played 110 prior matches in the European Cup/Champions League, the most for a final debutant, surpassing Arsenal's record of 90 matches prior to the 2006 final.[7] The match is the seventh final to feature a French team, and the first since Monaco in 2004. Marseille are the only French club to have won the competition, doing so in 1993.[8] The match is the third 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 the 1997 final.[9] PSG also featured in the 1996 UEFA Super Cup, losing 9–2 on aggregate to Juventus.[10] Paris are attempting to become the first French team to complete a continental treble, having won Ligue 1, which was awarded to them as the season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France,[11] and the Coupe de France.[12] The club also won the final season of the Coupe de la Ligue (league cup) and the Trophée des Champions (super cup),[13][14] thus winning all four domestic titles, though only the main domestic cup competition is considered for a continental treble.[15]

Road to the final
Further information: 2019–20 UEFA Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away; N: neutral).

Paris Saint-Germain Round Winners of SF1
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Real Madrid 3–0 (H) Matchday 1
Galatasaray 1–0 (A) Matchday 2
Club Brugge 5–0 (A) Matchday 3
Club Brugge 1–0 (H) Matchday 4
Real Madrid 2–2 (A) Matchday 5
Galatasaray 5–0 (H) Matchday 6
Group A winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Paris Saint-Germain 6 16
2 Real Madrid 6 11
3 Club Brugge 6 3
4 Galatasaray 6 2
Source: UEFA
 Final standings
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Borussia Dortmund 3–2 1–2 (A) 2–0 (H) Round of 16
Atalanta 2–1 (N) Quarter-finals
RB Leipzig 3–0 (N) Semi-finals

Pre-match
Original identity of the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final

Identity

The original identity of the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 29 August 2019.[16]

Ambassador

The ambassador for the original Istanbul final is former Turkish international Hamit Altıntop,[17] who finished as runner-up in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich as well as winning the 2003 and 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cups with Schalke 04.

Match

Details

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held on 10 July 2020 (after the quarter-final and semi-final draws), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Paris Saint-Germain v Winners of SF1
Report
Attendance: 0[note 1]

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time[note 2]

See also

Notes
  1. The remainder of the competition, held in August 2020, is being played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[1]
  2. Each team will only be given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References
  1. "Venues for Round of 16 matches confirmed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  2. "Istanbul to host 2020 UEFA Champions League Final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  3. "UEFA Club Finals postponed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  4. "UEFA competitions to resume in August". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  5. "Champions League and Europa League changes next season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  6. "Finals in Lisbon". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014.
  7. Azzoni, Tales (18 August 2020). "PSG beats Leipzig 3–0 to reach 1st Champions League final". Associated Press. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. Stokkermans, Karel (2 April 2020). "European Champions' Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  9. Stokkermans, Karel (26 January 2000). "European Cup Winners' Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  10. Stokkermans, Karel (5 September 2019). "European Super Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. "Ligue 1: Paris St-Germain awarded French title as season finished early". BBC Sport. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  12. "Paris St-Germain 1–0 Saint-Etienne: PSG win French Cup despite Kylian Mbappe injury". BBC Sport. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  13. "Paris St-Germain beat Lyon in French League Cup final for another treble". BBC Sport. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  14. "PSG beat Rennes to win Trophee des Champions in China". BBC Sport. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  15. Miller, Nick (5 June 2015). "Champions League treble: The seven clubs who claimed the prize". ESPN. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  16. "UEFA Champions League launches 2020 Istanbul final identity". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 August 2019.
  17. "EURO 2008 spotlight: How brilliant was Turkey's Hamit Altıntop?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020. ...Turkish Football Federation's Executive Committee members planning the UEFA Champions League 2020 final in Istanbul. Hamit is a UEFA ambassador for the city.
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