PL Sides in all Three European Finals, but Serie A Record Stands

Paris Saint-Germain appear to be the dominant force in European football at the moment. The Parisians are the current Champions League champions. Moreover, they are in the final once again and are odds-on favourites to defend their crown. However, there is no doubt that right now the Premier League is the strongest competition in the world.

PL teams have won three of the last seven Champions League finals. There have even been two all-English finals in that period. On top of that, there have also been two all-English Europa League finals in the same period, with Manchester United losing a third final as well. Finally, clubs from the English top tier have won the Europa Conference League in two of its four completed seasons.

Additionally, for the second season in a row, the English Premier League will top UEFA’s association coefficients. That is a reflection of how well PL outfits have done in European competition this term. Arsenal will face PSG in the UCL final. They are the underdogs, but English teams are favourites in both the 2025/26 Europa League final and the Conference League decider.

Aston Villa came through an all-PL semi against Nottingham Forest to book a final against Freiburg. Crystal Palace face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final. They are seeking to become the third side from London to win the competition after previous success for West Ham and, last term, Chelsea.

Hat-trick of Finals for English Trio

It has been a very strong continental campaign for clubs from the Premier League. The league became the first ever to have six clubs in the UCL. Amazingly, five of those finished in the top eight of the league phase. Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs finished first (posting the only 100% record), third and fourth respectively.

However, things rapidly went awry in the Round of 16. PSG beat Chelsea 8-2, Real thrashed City 5-1, and Atletico Madrid beat Spurs 7-5. In the quarters, PSG beat Liverpool 2-0 both home and away to leave Arsenal as the last one standing. But the Gunners have shown their class. Critics may argue that they have had an easy route to the final, but it should be remembered that Atleti eliminated Barca in the quarters, before Arsenal beat the Madrid side.

In the Europa League, Aston Villa, like Arsenal in the Champions League, were among the favourites from the start. Part of that was due to the sensational record of Villa boss Unai Emery in the competition, especially with sides including “villa”. The Basque boss has won it three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. Can he make it a fifth win with Aston Villa?

His side finished second in the league phase, winning seven of their eight matches. They have won five out of six games in the knockout phase. Freiburg won five of their league-phase clashes and have done very well to make the final. However, Villa are 4/11 favourites to lift the cup in Istanbul. We predict they will get the job done and add the Europa League to their 1982 European Cup triumph.

And Palace Complete the Set

As for Crystal Palace, they too are odds-on favourites, priced at 1/2 to lift the trophy. They face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final. That game will take place on the 27th of May in Leipzig as Palace look to win just the second major trophy in their history. Their opponents have never won anything, aside from lower division titles, and are currently 11th in La Liga, so Oliver Glasner will hope to sign off with a win.

PL Feat not Unheard Of

If the bookies have called the matches right, English sides will win two of the three European trophies available. To have a club in all three finals is an impressive feat. However, it is far from unique.

It is the first time it has been achieved by the English top flight. That includes the days of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. There were three Premier League teams in major European finals last year. Spurs and Man United contested the Europa League, and Chelsea won the Conference League. However, in the Champions League, Arsenal’s semi-final appearance was as good as it got.

In 2019, the Premier League actually provided four European finalists. Both the CL and EL were all-English affairs. Liverpool beat Spurs in the former, while Chelsea saw off Arsenal in the latter. Even so, 2025/26 breaks new ground for English sides, but both Spanish and Italian football have already achieved the UEFA finals hat-trick.

Serie A Lost all Three Finals in 2022/23

As recently as 2022/23, a single federation had teams in all three finals. However, Arsenal, Villa and Palace fans should note that back then, all three Serie A clubs lost. Man City beat Inter Milan in the CL final. Sevilla, not managed by Emery at that time, beat Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Europa League showpiece. Last, West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the Conference League decider in Prague.

But Won all Three in 1989/90

Back in the 1980s and into the 1990s, Italian football was the best in the world. Serie A’s giants attracted the best players, with wealthy owners funding extravagant spending. Indeed, between 1984 and 1992, Italian teams broke the world transfer record seven times in a row.

Milan and Juventus were very strong, and in 1989/90, those two won the European Cup and UEFA Cup (the forerunner to the Europa League) respectively. Juve even beat another Italian team, Fiorentina, in the final. The Conference League did not exist, but the original third big UEFA contest was the European Cup Winners’ Cup. And Sampdoria won that, beating Anderlecht 2-0 thanks to a brace from Gianluca Vialli, who Samp would sell to Juve a couple of years later for a world-record fee.

It was such a strong era for Italian football and Italian clubs made it to all three finals again in 1992/93 and also 1993/94. In 1993, there were wins for Juventus and Parma, but defeat for Milan. 12 months later, Milan returned to the European Cup final and thrashed Barca 4-0. Additionally, their city rivals Inter Milan beat Salzburg, but Arsenal prevented Parma from defending their Cup Winners’ Cup crown.

La Liga can Match Three Finalists but not Three Wins

That glorious 1989/90 campaign is the only time one nation has seen its clubs win the three main European trophies available at the time. However, La Liga did beat the PL in terms of having finalists in all three competitions.

In 1985/86, Barcelona lost on penalties to Steaua Bucharest in the European Cup final. The same season, Real Madrid defended their UEFA Cup crown, beating FC Köln 5-3 on aggregate (finals were over two legs for many years). There was another victory for an Eastern European side, with Dynamo Kyiv thrashing Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the Cup Winners’ Cup final.

Can Arsenal, Villa and Palace emulate Milan, Juve and Sampdoria? Or will they suffer the ignominy that befell Inter, Roma and Fiorentina just a few seasons ago?