English Teams 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 secured their spot in the Champions League final with a 2-1 aggregate win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Aston Villa and Crystal Palace advanced in their respective events later that week.

Unai Emery's Villa team reversed a 1-0 first-leg loss by beating Nottingham Forest 4-1 on aggregate Thursday. They will meet Bundesliga club Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20.

At the same time as Villa's win, Crystal Palace built on a 3-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk a week earlier with a 2-1 second-leg triumph at Selhurst Park. Palace will face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on May 28.

The Conference League launched five years ago as European football's third major competition after the Cup Winners' Cup folded in 1999.

All three finals nearly featured English teams last season. Chelsea took the Conference League title, and Tottenham defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final. Arsenal, the last English side standing in the Champions League, lost to eventual champion Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals.

The Premier League previously placed at least three teams in Champions League and Europa League finals. In 2021, Kai Havertz scored the lone goal as Chelsea beat Manchester City in an all-Premier League Champions League final, while Manchester United fell in the Europa League decider.

In 2019, Liverpool topped Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final the same week Chelsea beat Arsenal in the Europa League final in Baku.

English clubs lost both finals in 2006. Arsenal fell to Barcelona in the Champions League, and Middlesbrough dropped a 4-0 decision to Sevilla in the UEFA Cup.

The previous season with English winners in two of the three competitions dates back more than 20 years to 1984. Liverpool won a fourth European Cup by beating Roma, and Tottenham claimed the UEFA Cup for a second time against Anderlecht.

Liverpool also lifted the European Cup in 1981 with a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in Paris. Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town beat AZ Alkmaar in that year's UEFA Cup final.