The 1968 European Cup final was the final match of the 1967–68 European Cup, the premier club football competition in Europe. It was played at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 29 May 1968 between Benfica of Portugal and Manchester United of England in front of a crowd of 92,225. Both teams had to go through four rounds of two-legged knockout ties to reach the final; it was Benfica's fifth European Cup final, two of which they had won, and Manchester United's first.
Both sides went close in a goalless first half, before Manchester United took the lead from Bobby Charlton's header eight minutes into the second; however, Jaime Graça's 79th-minute equaliser meant the match went into extra time. Manchester United then scored three times in seven minutes in the extra period; the first was a solo goal from George Best, followed by a header from Brian Kidd on his 19th birthday. Charlton scored his second in the 99th minute, as Manchester United triumphed 4–1 to become the first English club to win the European Cup.
Background
The European Cup, now known as the UEFA Champions League, is a club football tournament contested by the best teams across Europe. The competition was first played in 1955–56. Neither Benfica nor Manchester United participated in the inaugural tournament, which was by invitation only; although Benfica had won the 1954–55 Primeira Divisão title, Sporting CP had already been invited. In 1968, only the league champion from each country qualified. Benfica reached the European Cup final for the first time in 1961, when they beat Barcelona 3–2. The following year, Benfica defended their title, coming from behind to beat Real Madrid 5–3 in the final. Benfica were losing finalists twice more over the next three years, losing to AC Milan in 1963 and Inter Milan in 1965.
Manchester United had never previously reached a European Cup final. They had been losing semi-finalists in both the 1956–57 and 1957–58 competitions. In February 1958, the team were returning from Belgrade having eliminated Red Star Belgrade in the quarter-finals when eight of their players were killed and two more suffered career-ending injuries in the Munich air disaster. Despite not qualifying, they were invited by UEFA to play in the following season's European Cup, but were forced to withdraw by the English Football Association. They returned to the competition in 1965–66, when they faced Benfica for the first time in the quarter-finals. Manchester United won 8–3 on aggregate, but were eliminated in the semi-final.
Route to the final
Benfica
Benfica entered the tournament as champions of Portugal, having won the 1966–67 Primeira Divisão. They faced Glentoran of Northern Ireland in the first round, travelling to Belfast for the first leg. Glentoran took the lead from a John Colrain penalty in the 10th minute, before Eusébio equalised in the 86th minute, and it finished 1–1. In the second leg, the two sides played out a goalless draw, which resulted in Benfica qualifying for the second round on the away goals rule. In the next round, they were drawn against Saint-Étienne of France. A goal from José Augusto in the 29th minute and a penalty from Eusébio in the 60th helped Benfica to a 2–0 home victory in the first leg. In France, Saint-Étienne won the second leg 1–0 via a 10th-minute goal from Georges Bereta. Despite losing the match, Benfica progressed 2–1 on aggregate.
In the quarter-finals, Benfica played out a goalless draw with Hungarian side Vasas in their away leg. Returning to Portugal for the second leg, the first half also remained goalless, before two goals from Eusébio and another from José Torres made it 3–0 to Benfica, and secured their place in the semi-final, where they faced Juventus of Italy. Benfica played the first leg at home, and once again strikes from Eusébio and Torres helped them to victory; each scored during the second half to give their team a 2–0 lead in the tie. In the second leg, The Guardian reported that Benfica were "technically superior, although Juventus maintained aggressive play." A Eusébio goal in 66th minute extended Benfica's advantage in the tie to 3–0, and secured them a place in the final.
