The idea of the European Cup, when it was created in 1955, was to bring together soccer champions from across the continent to decide which country truly had the best team. Was Real Madrid better than A.C. Milan? Could Manchester United beat Benfica? Could Ajax beat Juventus? Round after round, year after year, fans finally were able to see top teams battle it out in competitive games with a major trophy on the line. Now called the Champions League, this year’s final will once again determine the top club team in Europe. Will it be Liverpool, from England’s Premier League, or Spurs, from, er, England’s Premier League? The game will take place in Madrid on June 1, but given the participants it might as well be a routine November league match in London. Neither team is the reigning English champion, either: Spurs finished third last season, Liverpool fourth.<doc-sep>Tottenham will play Liverpool in the Champions League final after beating Ajax with a stoppage-time winner in Amsterdam. Spurs, who were playing in their first European Cup semi-final for 57 years, won 3-2 on the night after losing the first leg 1-0 at home in north London last week. Manager Mauricio Pochettino's side went through on away goals after the tie finished 3-3, striker Lucas Moura scoring a hat-trick in a packed Johan Cruyff Arena. Image: The Spurs players were jubilant After the final whistle, Pochettino said it was "difficult to talk". "The emotion is amazing," he told BT Sport. "My players are heroes. They are all heroes but [Lucas Moura] was a superhero." Advertisement Moura said it was the "best moment in my life - in my career", adding that it was "impossible to explain what I'm feeling". Image: Ajax players devastated after the defeat It means two English teams have staged brilliant semi-final comebacks on consecutive evenings to claim their place in the biggest match in European football, after Liverpool overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat Barcelona 4-3 at Anfield on Tuesday night. Tottenham full-back Danny Rose said he and his team-mates "saw Liverpool and it just goes to show it's not over until it's over". The England defender added: "The gaffer mentioned it at the hotel before we left and he just said 'that's the right attitude'." The final against Jurgen Klopp's Reds will be in Madrid on 1 June. Image: Tottenham's Lucas Moura celebrates after scoring the team's third goal Spurs appeared to be virtually out of the tie after conceding two goals in the first half, meaning they were 3-0 down on aggregate. But they got on to the scoresheet in the 55th minute after Danny Rose set Lucas Moura free to stroke the ball home. Moura bagged his second four minutes later, finding the net after Llorente was denied from point-blank range. Then as the final whistle was drawing near, Moura ran on to a through-ball from Dele Alli to score the winner.<doc-sep>The 2018-19 Champions League concluded on Saturday as Liverpool beat Tottenham in the final 2-0 behind goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi. The title is the sixth for the Reds in their history, as the English club bounced back from the defeat to Real Madrid in the final one year prior. Champions League format Each team plays the other group members twice in the group stage, with the top two on points advancing to the Round of 16 and the teams finishing third place ending up in the Europa League knockout stage. From there, two-leg ties until the final. Champions League bracket Wikipedia screengrab Final June 1 Liverpool 2, Tottenham 0 Semifinals April 30 Ajax 1, Tottenham 0 May 1 Barcelona 3, Liverpool 0 May 7 Liverpool 4, Barcelona 0 (Liverpool advances 4-3 on aggregate) May 8 Tottenham 3, Ajax 2 (3-3 on aggregate; Tottenham advances on away goals) Quarterfinals Apr. 9 Tottenham 1, Manchester City 0 Liverpool 2, Porto 0 Apr. 10 Barcelona 1, Manchester United 0 Juventus 1, Ajax 1 Apr. 16 Ajax 2, Juventus 1 (Ajax advances 3-2 on aggregate) Barcelona 3, Manchester United 0 (Barcelona advances 4-0 on aggregate) Apr. 17 Manchester City 4, Tottenham 3 (4-4 on aggregate; Tottenham advances on away goals) Liverpool 4, Porto 1 (Liverpool advances 6-1 on aggregate) Round of 16 Feb. 12 Roma 2, Porto 1 PSG 2, Manchester United 0 Feb. 13 Tottenham 3, Dortmund 0 Real Madrid 2, Ajax 1 Feb. 19 Lyon 0, Barcelona 0 Liverpool 0, Bayern 0 Feb. 20 Atletico Madrid 2, Juventus 0 Manchester City 3, Schalke 2 March 5 Ajax 4, Real Madrid 1 (Ajax advances 5-3 on aggregate) Tottenham 1, Dortmund 0 (Tottenham advances 4-0 on aggregate) March 6 Porto 3, Roma 1 (Roma advances 4-3 in aggregate) Manchester United 3, PSG 1 (United advances on away goals, 3-3 on aggregate) March 12 Man. City 7, Schalke 0 (City advances 10-2 on aggregate) Juventus 3, Atletico Madrid 0 (Juventus advances 3-2 on aggregate) March 13 Liverpool 3, Bayern Munich 1 (Liverpool advances 3-1 on aggregate) Barcelona 5, Lyon 1 (Barcelona advances 5-1 on aggregate) Group stage results Group A GP W D L GD PTS Borussia Dortmund 6 4 1 1 +8 13 Atletico Madrid 6 4 1 1 3 13 Brugge 6 1 3 2 1 6 Monaco 6 0 1 5 -12 1 Group A schedule: Sept. 18 Borussia Dortmund 1, Club Brugge 1 Atletico Madrid 2, Monaco 1 Oct. 3 Atletico Madrid 3, Club Brugge 1 Borussia Dortmund 3, Monaco 0 Oct. 24 Monaco 1, Brugge 1 Borussia Dortmund 4, Atletico Madrid 0 Nov. 6 Brugge 4, Monaco 0 Atletico Madrid 2, Borussia Dortmund 0 Nov. 28 Atletico Madrid 2 Monaco 0Borussia Dortmund 0, Brugge 0 Dec. 11 Brugge 0, Atletico Madrid 0Dortmund 2, Monaco 0 Group B GP W D L GD PTS Barcelona 6 4 2 0 +9 14 Tottenham 6 2 2 2 -1 8 Inter Milan 6 2 2 2 -1 8 PSV 6 0 2 4 -7 2 Group B schedule: Sept. 18 Barcelona 4, PSV 0 Inter 2, Tottenham 1 Oct. 3 Barcelona 4, Tottenham 2 Inter 2, PSV 1 Oct. 24 PSV 2, Tottenham 2 Barcelona 2, Inter Milan 0 Nov. 6 Tottenham 2, PSV 1 Inter Milan 1, Barcelona 1 Nov. 28 Barcelona 2, PSV 1Tottenham 1, Inter Milan 0 Dec. 11 Barcelona 1, Tottenham 1Inter Milan 1, PSV 1 Group C GP W D L GD PTS Paris Saint-Germain 6 3 2 1 +8 11 Liverpool 6 3 0 3 +2 9 Napoli 6 2 3 1 +2 9 Red Star 6 1 1 4 -12 4 Group C schedule: Sept. 18 Liverpool 3, PSG 2 Red Star 0, Napoli 0 Oct. 3 PSG 6, Red Star 1 Napoli 1, Liverpool 0 Oct. 24 PSG 2, Napoli 2 Liverpool 4, Red Star 0 Nov. 6 Red Star 2, Liverpool 0 Napoli 1, PSG 1 Nov. 28 PSG 2, Liverpool 1Napoli 3, Red Star 1 Dec. 11 Liverpool 1, Napoli 1PSG 4, Red Star 1 Group D GP W D L GD PTS Porto 6 5 1 0 +9 16 Schalke 6 3 2 1 +2 11 Galatasaray 6 1 1 4 -3 4 Lokomotiv Moscow 6 1 0 5 -8 3 Group D schedule: Sept. 18 Galatasaray 3, Lokomotiv 0 Schalke 1, Porto 0 Oct. 3 Schalke 1, Lokomotiv 0 Porto 1, Galatasaray 0 Oct. 24 Porto 3, Lokomotiv Moscow 1 Galatasaray 0, Schalke 0 Nov. 6 Porto 4, Lokomotiv 1 Schalke 2, Galatasaray 0 Nov. 28 Porto 3, Schalke 1Lokomotiv 2, Galatsaray 0 Dec. 11 Porto 3, Galatasay 2Schalke 1, Lokomotiv 0 Group E GP W D L GD PTS Bayern Munich 6 4 2 0 +10 14 Ajax 6 3 3 0 +6 12 Benfica 6 2 1 3 -5 7 AEK 6 0 0 6 -11 0 Group E schedule: Sept. 19 Ajax 3, AEK 0 Bayern Munich 2, Benfica 0 Oct. 2 Bayern Munich 1, Ajax 1 Benfica 3, AEK 2 Oct. 23 Bayern 2, AEK 0 Ajax 1, Benfica 0 Nov. 7 Bayern Munich 2, AEK 0 Benfica 1, Ajax 1 Nov. 27 Ajax 2, AEK 0 Bayern Munich 5, Benfica 1 Dec. 12 Ajax 3, Bayern Munich 3Benfica 1, AEK 0 Group F GP W D L GD PTS Manchester City 6 4 1 1 +10 13 Lyon 6 1 5 0 1 8 Shakhtar 6 1 3 2 -8 6 Hoffenheim 6 0 3 3 -3 3 Group F schedule: Sept. 19 Shakhtar 2, Hoffenheim 2 Lyon 2, Manchester City 1 Oct. 2 Manchester City 2, Hoffenheim 1 Lyon 2, Shakhtar 2 Oct. 23 Hoffenheim 3, Lyon 3 Manchester City 3, Shakhtar 0 Nov. 7 Lyon 2, Hoffenheim 2 Manchester City 6, Shakhtar 0 Nov. 27 Shakhtar 3, Hoffenheim 2 Lyon 2, Manchester City 2 Dec. 12 Shakhtar Donetsk 1, Lyon 1 Manchester City 2, Hoffenheim 1 Group G GP W D L GD PTS Real Madrid 6 4 0 2 +7 12 Roma 6 3 0 3 +3 9 Viktoria Plzen 6 2 1 3 -9 7 CSKA 6 2 1 3 -1 7<doc-sep>Now that we know who will be in the Champions League final, you are probably wondering when exactly the game is? Well, you are going to have to wait a bit after the semifinals concluded this week with Liverpool stunning Barcelona with a three-goal deficit comeback and Tottenham pulling off a similar come-from-behind win against Ajax. The 2019 Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham will be played on Saturday, June 1 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain. Tottenham is making it's first appearance in the title game, while Liverpool is going for its sixth European championship and first since 2005. This will be the first Champions League final between two English teams since Manchester United beat Chelsea in 2008, and it's the first between two teams from the same country since 2013 when Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund. The match is set for 3 p.m. ET, and you can see the game on fuboTV (Try for free).<doc-sep>
Open this photo in gallery Liverpool's Divock Origi celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal against Barcelona at Anfield. The Canadian Press The idea of the European Cup, when it was created in 1955, was to bring together soccer champions from across the continent to decide which country truly had the best team. Was Real Madrid better than AC Milan? Could Manchester United beat Benfica? Could Ajax beat Juventus? Round after round, year after year, fans finally were able to see top teams battle it out in competitive games with a major trophy on the line. Now called the Champions League, this year’s final will once again determine the top club team in Europe. Will it be Liverpool, from England’s Premier League, or Tottenham Hotspur, from, er, England’s Premier League? Story continues below advertisement The game will take place in Madrid on June 1, but given the participants it might as well be a routine November league match in London. Neither team is the reigning English champion, either: Spurs finished third last season, Liverpool fourth. For decades, such a matchup was impossible; countries were permitted to send only one team to the European Cup, with an exception made only for the defending champion. But in 1997-98, some league runners-up were admitted, too, and before long, three, four and sometimes five teams from the biggest countries were allowed to enter. Suddenly it was possible – likely even – for a team to be champion of Europe without being the champion of its domestic league. Expansion also increased the likelihood that the Champions League final would be contested by two teams from the same country, and it duly happened in 2000 (Real Madrid vs. Valencia) and five times since then. Three years later, Italy’s Juventus met AC Milan. In 2008, England also had both finalists, and Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties. More recently, a single-country final has become something of a Champions League feature: Bayern played Dortmund in an all-German final in 2013 and, in 2014 and 2016, the finalists came from the same city: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Some factions in Europe do not seem to mind this: A group of top clubs, led by Juventus and its president, Andrea Agnelli, is pushing to reshape the Champions League even further, to ensure that the biggest teams always have a place, that the smaller ones get pushed to the margins even more, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) this week signalled it might be willing to go along. One of this year’s semi-finalists, Ajax Amsterdam, a pedigreed team from a respected league, was considered a plucky underdog in the Champions League; in a competition increasingly dominated by rich clubs from big leagues, Ajax, by comparison, was neither very rich nor its league very big. While 26 teams, including four from England, got to go right into the group stage, Ajax had to get through three qualifying rounds to make it that far. Teams from the very smallest countries would have to get through a full five rounds. After the first legs of this season’s semi-finals, won by Ajax, 1-0, and Barcelona, 3-0, there was hope, at last, for an underdog in the final, even if it looked set to face a Spanish giant. But then Liverpool and Spurs completed stunning comebacks in the second legs, and a final that seemed destined to be about history and style and storied teams – Barcelona has won five Champions League titles and Ajax four – lost some of its magic. Story continues below advertisement Soon, this season’s dominance of the Premier League could extend even to UEFA’s second-tier championship, the Europa League, where Arsenal and Chelsea are on the cusp of advancing to the final. It would be the first time two English teams have met in that final since the first season, in 1971-72. The successful year in European play for England harks back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when English teams won six European Cups in a row. Despite triumphs by Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool since 2005, English teams have been known more recently for losing Champions League finals (six defeats since 2006) than winning them. This year, England is guaranteed the trophy, and one of the two finalists sometimes faulted for a lack of trophies at home – Liverpool’s most recent English league title was in 1990; Spurs have not won the league since 1961 – will be crowned champion of Europe.