Arsenal and the only five teams to lose a Champions League final when leading at halftime

Arsenal’s quest to win a first-ever UEFA Champions League trophy ended in heartbreak on May 30th when the Gunners were downed by defending champions Paris Saint-Germain. Mikel Arteta’s side got off to the perfect start when Kai Havertz lashed home from a tight angle after just six minutes, and they would maintain that one-goal lead into the halftime interval. Then, with 25 minutes before full time, Ousmane Dembélé equalized from the penalty spot, and the game would finish 1-1 before heading into extra time and eventually penalties. 

Online betting sites made PSG the narrow favorites prior to the action getting underway in Budapest. The Bovada sports betting odds at kick-off time made the French giants a 4/6 shot to defend the crown they won so impressively against Inter Milan 12 months ago. Those odds were pushed out to 2/1 when they trailed 1-0 at the break. But in the end, lady luck would side with the Parisians, and missed spot-kicks from Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhães ensured that the trophy remained at the Parc Des Princes for the second straight year. 

The 2025/26 Champions League final was just the sixth in history in which the team that was winning at half-time didn’t go on to lift the trophy. But which teams have had to endure this fate before? Let’s take a look. 

Atletico Madrid – 2014 

It’s been 12 long years since the last time a team didn’t win the Champions League after leading at the break. Diego Simeone’s upstart Atletico Madrid were the last team to suffer such a fate. After shockingly pipping Barcelona and cross-city rivals Real Madrid to the La Liga crown in 2014, it looked as though the Rojiblancos would crown their stunning season by winning the European Cup in Lisbon. 

They took an early lead against the aforementioned Real after Diego Godin nodded over Iker Casillas in the Portuguese capital after 36 minutes. They would cling on to that lead until deep into stoppage time before Sergio Ramos powered home a bullet header in the 93rd minute to force extra time. In the additional period, an Atleti side that had punched above its weight all season long eventually ran out of steam, and goals from Gareth Bale, Marcelo, and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a 4-1 win and ensured that Los Blancos finally claimed the elusive La Decima. 

Arsenal – 2006 

Unfortunately for Arsenal, this isn’t the first time they’ve been here. In fact, their bitter defeat to PSG in Budapest makes them the only team in history to have lost TWO Champions League finals when leading at half time. The first of them ironically came in Paris against Barcelona 20 years ago. 

Back then, Arsene Wenger’s team was stripped bare, with Thierry Henry the only true superstar in a young squad. Their entire run to the final was based on defensive solidity, but their game plan was in the mud when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off after just seven minutes. Still, that wouldn’t deter the underdog Gunners, who shockingly took the lead eight minutes before the break when defender Sol Campbell powered a header past Victor Valdes. 

Wenger’s men would cling onto their lead until the 76th minute, when the ten men could no longer stand up to the Barca onslaught. Samuel Eto’o first scored before Juliano Belletti struck the winner four minutes later. 

AC Milan – 2005 

The most memorable second-half collapse came back in 2005, and the famous Miracle of Istanbul. That year, a star-studded AC Milan squad containing the likes of Andriy Shevchenko, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, and Paolo Maldini raced into a 3-0 halftime lead against a lackluster Liverpool team, with a brace from Hernan Crespo seemingly putting one hand on the trophy for the Rossoneri. The consensus at halftime was that the margin of victory could end up being five or six, but shockingly, the Merseysiders somehow clawed their way back. 

Firstly, captain and talisman Steven Gerrard pulled a goal back. Then, Vladimír Šmicer rifled home from outside the area to cut the deficit to just one. Finally, Xabi Alonso would slam home, missing a penalty before hammering the rebound into the roof of the net, and Liverpool were somehow level. 

The game would remain 3-3 and be decided on penalties. There, misses from Serginho, Pirlo, and Shevchenko handed the Reds the trophy in one of the greatest upsets and comebacks of all time. 

Valencia – 2001 

Valencia reached back-to-back Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001, painfully losing both of them. In the first, they were utterly outclassed by their compatriots, Real Madrid, in Paris. In the second, they thought their moment had finally come. 

Gaizka Mendieta handed Los Che a third-minute lead against Bayern Munich from the penalty spot in the 2001 showpiece in Milan. They would cling onto that lead until halftime, but five minutes after the break, a Stefan Effenberg penalty leveled things up at 1-1. Again, the game would remain level at 1-1 and would ultimately be decided on penalties, with Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn becoming the hero as he saved from Mauricio Pellegrino to take the trophy back to Bavaria. 

Bayern Munich – 1999 

Two years prior, Bayern Munich had to endure that pain themselves. They led Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United by a goal to nil at the half-time interval after Mario Basler’s deflected free kick after just six minutes. It was a lead they would hold right up until the 91st minute, when all hell broke loose. 

Firstly, the Red Devils found an equalizer when Teddy Sheringham swept home from close range. Then, barely a minute later, United had won it as Ole Gunnar Solskjær poked home after Sheringham flicked on David Beckham’s corner. 

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