English Clubs Reach Finals of All Three European Competitions for First Time

English teams have reached the finals of three different European competitions in the same season for the first time. Arsenal sealed their place in the Champions League final with a 2-1 aggregate victory against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Later in the week, Aston Villa overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance with a 4-1 aggregate win on Thursday.

Crystal Palace followed with a 2-1 second-leg victory at home. Aston Villa will face a Bundesliga side in the Europa League final in Istanbul on 20 May. Crystal Palace will meet a Spanish opponent in the Conference League final on 27 May. The Conference League was introduced five years ago as European football's third competition.

Reaching all three finals nearly occurred last season when one English club won the Conference League and two others met in the Europa League final. Arsenal was the last English team remaining in the Champions League that year and lost in the final four to the eventual champion.

The Premier League has previously had teams in the Champions League and Europa League finals in the same season. In 2021 one English side defeated another in the Champions League final while a third lost in the Europa League final. In 2019 two English clubs contested the Champions League final and two others met in the Europa League final the same week.

In 2006 English teams lost both the Champions League and Uefa Cup finals. The last time English clubs won two of the three available competitions was more than 20 years earlier in 1984.

Italy has secured a representative in all three finals several times, most recently in 2023 when its clubs lost all three matches. Italian teams won two out of three finals in 1993-94 and also achieved two wins in 1992-93 and 1988-89. In 1989-90 Italian clubs won all three competitions.

Spanish clubs reached three finals in 1985-86 with one victory in the Uefa Cup and two runner-up finishes in the other competitions.