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Teams that won the Champions League as part of the treble

Manchester City lift the Champions League. Photo/ANI News
  • Manchester City won the Champions League to complete the treble as they stamped their authority this season.
  • We look at the teams that have won the Champions League as part of the treble.

Manchester City won the Champions League to complete the treble as they stamped their authority this season.

Only a few teams have managed to win the Champions League and complete the treble in the same season.

We look at the teams that have won the Champions League as part of the treble.

Manchester United (1998/99)

Manchester United treble winning team. Photo/SPORTbible

As part of a historic triple, Manchester United became the first team in history to win the Champions League, cementing Sir Alex Ferguson’s team’s place in English football history.

The initial stages of the Premier League era saw United dominate, but they had yet to translate that dominance into European play. Everything only fell into place after a season of exceptional success.

The club’s successful run in Europe was unquestionably the season’s high point. After beating Inter Milan and Juventus in the knockout stages, United advanced from a Group of Death that included both Bayern Munich and Barcelona. In the later match, United overcame a two-goal deficit in Turin during the second leg to advance to a decisive rematch versus Bayern.

Ferguson’s team trailed entering stoppage time in the Champions League, and it appeared as though their journey would end in sadness, but two goals from replacements Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sealed a thrilling win and an unprecedented triple.

Barcelona (2008/09)

During the 2008–09 season, Barcelona was led by a young Pep Guardiola to victory in both Spain and Europe.

During the Spaniard’s first season in command at Camp Nou, Guardiola’s team dominated everything in their path, winning the La Liga championship for the first time in three years by finishing a comfortable nine points ahead of archrival Real Madrid.

Before defeating Chelsea in a disputed and dramatic semifinal match, Barcelona had defeated both Lyon and Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

Once again, Premier League opposition lurked in the final match as Barcelona faced off against the defending champions Manchester United, but it was the former that won with a 2-0 win, goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi crowning Barcelona as the undisputed treble-winning champions.

Inter Milan (2009/10)

Despite fierce competition from Roma, Inter thrived domestically and won the Scudetto for a record-breaking fourth time. The irrepressible Diego Milito scored the game’s lone goal as Inter defeated the same team in the Coppa Italia final after finishing two points ahead of the capital club in the title race.

Inter put on a remarkable performance to take a 3-1 lead into the second leg in Spain, and the Italian champions advanced to the final thanks to a Mourinho classic in Camp Nou.

A magnificent performance by Milito helped Inter win the European Championship and the Triple Crown for the first time in 45 years when they faced Bayern Munich in the final in Madrid.

Bayern Munich (2012/13)

Bayern climbed out to an early lead in the Bundesliga and held it throughout the whole season, finishing with a club-record 91 points to win the championship, 25 points ahead of Borussia Dortmund, who was the closest contender.

Arjen Robben’s late goal gave Bayern a 2-1 victory and made them the European champions—a sweet triumph for the Bavarians since they had lost two of the previous three finals. Robben was the villain of Bayern’s defeat to Chelsea on their own field the previous season after missing a penalty.

Bayern defeated Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final to win their treble.

Barcelona (2014/15)

Barcelona team lift the Champions League. Photo/Barcelona

Barcelona had one of its finest seasons in club history in 2015, winning the Champions League, La Liga, and Copa del Rey to become the first team in history to do it twice.

In European competition, the Blaugrana were in equally commanding form as they easily defeated both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain to get to the last four, where another masterful Messi performance helped Barcelona take revenge on Bayern Munich in the semifinals.

Neymar and Suarez both scored in the decisive 3-1 victory for Barcelona over Juventus at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, giving them their second treble in as few as six years.

Bayern Munich (2019/20)

Bayern team that won the Champions League. Photo/Bayern Strikes

Bayern won the Bundesliga championship for the eighth time in a row by finishing 13 points ahead of second-place Borussia Dortmund. They then defeated Bayer Leverkusen to win the DFB-Pokal for the second time in a row.

However, Bayern’s march to Champions League glory will eternally immortalize its players since the German powerhouses were the only team in history to win Europe’s top trophy after winning all of their games and tallying an astonishing 43 goals in just 11 contests.

Manchester City (2022/23)

Guardiola’s squad overcame unexpected contenders Arsenal thanks to their outstanding play in the final weeks, winning the Premier League for the fifth time in as six seasons.

After defeating Manchester United in a momentous final at Wembley, City also took home the FA Cup.

The club’s final matchup in the Champions League was against Inter Milan. As Rodri scored the game-winning goal to give City a 1-0 victory in Istanbul and clinch the club triple, they vanquished their demons from the 2021 final loss.

I am an ardent sports enthusiast interested in writing about football, motorsport and athletics.

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