European club season 2024/25 recap: PSG make history, Chelsea and Spurs shine in UEFA finals | OneFootball

Another exciting European club season is behind us, with history being made across the board.

Omnipresent contenders for the top accolades, such as Manchester City and Real Madrid, surrendered the spotlight to newfound continental forces.

All three major European competitions crowned new champions, with English clubs dominating the scene, albeit outside the top table.

Newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool couldn’t make it out of the Champions League last-16.

Man City exited in the knockout play-off round, Aston Villa waved goodbye in the quarter-final, and Arsenal were defeated in the semi-final.

Elsewhere, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur made deep runs in the Europa League despite a disastrous domestic season.

Meanwhile, Chelsea lived up to their tag as favourites in the Europa Conference League.

Without further ado, let’s look at the biggest storylines, standout performances and historic moments that shaped the 2024/25 European campaign.

Europa Conference League

Perhaps the least dramatic battle for a continental honour unfolded in the Europa Conference League, where Chelsea’s superior squad depth and quality shone through from start to finish.

Enzo Maresca’s side dominated the competition from the outset en route to becoming the second Premier League club to lift the title in Europe’s newest club tournament.

Chelsea set numerous records, including winning all six league-phase outings with an aggregate score of 26-5, the best scoring record in the competition’s opening stage.

Except for a 2-1 home loss to Legia Warsaw in the return leg of their quarter-final tie, the Blues won all six remaining knockout fixtures, including a 4-1 rout of Real Betis in the final.

Despite trailing 1-0 at the break, the Stamford Bridge outfit wiped the floor with Manuel Pellegrini’s side in the second half to join West Ham United on the list of English Europa Conference League winners.

Europa League

There was more than just a piece of silverware on the line when Man Utd and Tottenham locked horns in the 54th edition of Europe’s secondary club competition final.

With both sides condemned to bottom-half finishes in the Premier League, hoisting the Europa League title was their only way back to the Champions League.

More importantly, it was the only way for each club to salvage some pride, with Spurs gunning for their first trophy since 2008.

Ange Postecoglou made good on his pre-season promise, delivering a title in his second season in charge as the London side narrowly edged the Red Devils at San Mames.

Brennan Johnson’s scrappy winner decided an uneventful Bilbao showpiece as Tottenham won 1-0 to add the first European silverware to their dusty trophy cabinet since the early 1970s.

Man Utd’s slump on Spanish soil rounded off the worst season in club history, leaving more questions than answers around under-pressure manager Ruben Amorim’s future.

Champions League

Almost 15 years of substantial investments finally paid off last weekend as Paris Saint-Germain trounced Inter Milan 5-0 in a Champions League final that will be remembered for its sheer dominance.

Ten years since guiding Barcelona to the European throne, Luis Enrique rewrote PSG’s history books, steering the perennial Ligue 1 champions to their first Champions League title.

It wasn’t smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination, considering Les Parisiens navigated the newly formatted league phase on the final day.

However, they went from strength to strength in the knockouts, getting the better of Brest, Liverpool, Villa and Arsenal to set up their first grand final since 2020.

Despite ousting Barcelona in an epic semi-final, Inter never stood a chance at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena as PSG demonstrated unparalleled desire and quality to blow them out of the water.