Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Wembley Stadium is one of the most iconic sporting venues across the entire planet. The modern version of the footballing theatre has hosted a range of unforgettable fixtures since it opened its doors in 2007.
The biggest fixtures that have been held at Wembley were unsurprisingly UEFA Champions League finals, as there is simply no bigger contest than the one that crowns the outright European champion.
The stadium will host the UCL final in 2024 for the third time since it replaced the original venue of the same name. The final of the 2023/24 season could prove to be Wembley's greatest UCL event yet, as several English teams could claim victory on home soil.
Arsenal and Manchester City went head-to-head for the Premier League crown in 2022/23, and this year they could renew that rivalry on the European stage as both are genuine competitors to win the UCL. Many of the reputable betting sites around the world offer Arsenal and City as some of the frontrunners in the outright competition odds.
For example, at BetUK Pep Guardiola's City are offered as the clear favourites to retain their 2023 trophy at odds of 37/20. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are one of the candidates to pull off an upset offered at 6/1.
8 - Manchester City have become the first English club to win eight consecutive European Cup/UEFA Champions League matches. Frontier. pic.twitter.com/6ay0Ewpki4
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 13, 2023
Wembley will most likely be the host for a remarkable back-to-back triumph for Guardiola's men. However, Arsenal winning their first-ever UCL trophy in their home city would perhaps be an even more significant piece of history that could be written at the national stadium.
2024 could well provide the biggest UCL night in the history of the modern Wembley Stadium, but what were the great finals that took place in the English capital since it was opened in 2007?
The 2011 final was the first time that Wembley hosted UEFA's grand spectacle. Manchester United had the chance to capture the trophy on home soil, but they faced one of the greatest Barcelona teams ever.
87, 695 spectators were present at Wembley's UCL debut in which the legendary Catalunyan team ran riot over Sir Alex Ferguson's United. Pedro Rodriguez, Lionel Messi and David Villa scored for Pep Guardiola's team, and the Red Devils managed a single reply from Wayne Rooney.
Lionel Messi My favorite match? The UCL final vs Man Utd at Wembley 2011. We played really well pic.twitter.com/DAxmgls4ju
— (@PSGINT_) February 14, 2022
Messi pioneered the 3-1 result for his team, and to this day that night at Wembley is deemed as one of his greatest and most complete performances of all time. He received the Man of the Match award following a stellar performance in which he netted the decisive goal and orchestrated almost all of Barcelona's clear-cut chances.
Wembley hosted the final again in 2013, in what was the competition's only ever all-German final, with Bayern Munich taking on Borussia Dortmund.
Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring for Bayern in the second half but his strike was quickly cancelled out by Ilkay Gundogan's penalty. Arjen Robben then netted a devastating winner for the Bavarians in the dying minutes when extra time seemed to be on the cards.
That specific Wembley final certainly offered plenty of drama, although what was most significant was that the stadium hosted a fixture which represented the all-time peak of German football.
The new Wembley stadium will have been hosting fixtures for just 17 years come the final which could feature City or Arsenal in 2024. It has already been graced with prime Messi and his fellow Barcelona icons, as well as arguably the biggest all-German footballing contest in history.
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