The 2002 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The show-piece event was contested between Bayer Leverkusen of Germany and Real Madrid of Spain at the Hampden Park in Glasgow, on Wednesday, 15 May 2002, to decide the winner of the Champions League. Leverkusen appeared in the final for the first time, whereas Real Madrid appeared in their 12th final.
Each club needed to progress through the group stages, second group stages, and the knockout rounds to reach the final. Bayer Leverkusen finished second in their group behind Barcelona and progressed to the second group stage. There, they won their group, beating the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United to progress to the final. Real Madrid won their group stage and moved into the second group stage, which they also won, before facing Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the knockout stages.
Before the match, a minute of silence was held in honour of Ukrainian manager Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who died two days earlier.
Real Madrid were regarded as favorites before the match and took the lead in the eighth minute through Raúl. However, it took only five minutes before Lúcio could equalise to make it 1–1. This wasn't until the 45th minute, when Zinedine Zidane scored the winning goal, a left-footed volley into the top corner, assisted by Roberto Carlos to make it 2–1, winning the Champions League trophy for Real Madrid. This goal is widely considered to be one of the greatest goals ever scored and is fondly remembered.
Read more about 2002 UEFA Champions League Final: Route To The Final, Post Match
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