Champions League Finals That Were Decided in Extra Time

A final is level more often than it is decided in normal time, and the rules provide thirty more minutes before penalties. A small number of finals have been won in that extra period, which makes those matches memorable for their ending.

Why extra time happens

Extra time is played when the final is level after ninety minutes. It is the competition's way of settling a match on the pitch before resorting to penalties, and it gives both sides one more chance to win it.

Because the final is a single match, extra time is the only extension available. There is no second leg to fall back on, so the extra thirty minutes carry the full weight of the trophy.

The finals that turned

Several finals have been decided after the ninety-minute mark, usually when one side found a goal in extra time after a tight match. Those finals are remembered for the late winner and the way it arrived.

The later the goal, the more it is remembered. A winner in the last minutes of extra time is the most compressed ending available short of a shoot-out, and it defines the night.

The effect on the players

Extra time in a final is played under maximum fatigue and maximum pressure. Both sides have already given ninety minutes, and the tactical shape of the match usually loosens as legs tire.

That fatigue is why extra time often produces goals. Tight matches become open as players tire, and a substitute who entered fresh can be decisive in a period when the rest of the pitch is exhausted.

Substitutions in the added period

Clubs are allowed additional substitutions when a final reaches extra time, which gives a manager one more chance to change the match. Those changes are often made with penalties in mind.

The rule matters because it lets a side bring on a fresh attacker for an open period or a reliable taker for a shoot-out. It is one of the small mechanics that shape how a final is finished.

Reading extra-time finals

An extra-time final should be read as a match with two phases. The first ninety minutes establish the contest, and the added period decides it, often in a way the earlier portion did not suggest.

For a reader, extra time is the format's way of insisting on a result. The competition wants a champion found in the football where possible, and the added period is the last chance to do it before penalties.

• Extra time is played when a final is level after ninety minutes.
• It gives both sides thirty more minutes to win the trophy.
• Several finals have been decided by a goal in extra time.
• Fatigue tends to open the match, which can produce late goals.
• Additional substitutions are allowed in extra time.
• The added period is the last chance to decide the final before penalties.

Extra time is where a level final is most likely to turn. The added period rewards fitness, depth and a manager's late changes, and the finals decided in it are remembered for a goal that arrived after the match had already seemed to settle.