Ranking the best Champions League final performances in history

1. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool vs AC Milan, 2005

Iconic is not the same as efficient. The standard here is stakes, opposition, match-turning influence, and, only when needed, individual brilliance, and Gerrard clears all four in Istanbul. Liverpool trailed 3-0 at half-time at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, UEFA called it perhaps the most dramatic decider in Champions League history and “maybe the ultimate game of two halves,” and Gerrard later said he thought it was over before the comeback became 3-3 and the penalty shootout win.

2. Gareth Bale, Real Madrid vs Liverpool, 2018

Bale’s case is the purest example of a substitute hijacking a final through sheer force of talent. He came on in the 61st minute in Kyiv and scored twice in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win, including an overhead kick and a long-range strike at 83 minutes, and UEFA named him man of the match. Bale said scoring such a goal on “the biggest stage in world football” was a dream come true, and he had never scored a bicycle kick before.

3. Teddy Sheringham, Manchester United vs Bayern Munich, 1999

A great final performance can be a single intervention if the timing is ruthless enough. Sheringham’s added-time equalizer at Camp Nou turned a 1-0 defeat into a lifeline, and UEFA later described the finish as one of the most dramatic final endings ever.

4. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United vs Bayern Munich, 1999

If Sheringham cracked the door open, Solskjaer walked straight through it in the dying seconds. That final touch made the comeback complete, and it is why United’s 2-1 win still reads as one of football’s most startling thefts.

5. Zinédine Zidane, Real Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen, 2002

Some final performances are remembered because they combine aesthetic perfection with championship consequence. Zidane’s volley in the 2-1 win at Hampden Park is one of those rare moments, the kind of strike that still looks impossible even when you know the outcome.

6. Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid vs Liverpool, 2022

Goalkeepers rarely get the credit they deserve in these debates, but a final can be won by one player refusing to let it swing. Courtois’ command in Real Madrid’s 1-0 win in Paris turned Liverpool’s pressure into frustration, which is a different kind of dominance but still final-defining.

7. Didier Drogba, Chelsea vs Bayern Munich, 2012

Drogba’s final belongs here because it fused rescue, nerve, and total consequence. He scored the late equalizer in Munich and then converted the decisive penalty in the shootout, delivering Chelsea’s first European title in a way no one else on the pitch could match.

8. Lionel Messi, Barcelona vs Manchester United, 2011

Messi’s best final argument is not volume but control against elite opposition. At Wembley he scored in Barcelona’s 3-1 win over Manchester United, and the goal mattered because it came in a match where Barcelona already controlled the stage but still needed a player to make that control feel inevitable.

9. Samuel Eto’o, Barcelona vs Manchester United, 2009

Eto’o’s final is easy to underrate because the team performance around it was so polished. His opening goal in Rome gave Barcelona the early grip in a 2-0 win over Manchester United, and in finals, the first decisive blow often matters more than the flashiest one.

10. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid vs Juventus, 2017

Ronaldo’s place on this list comes from turning a high-profile final into a statement of authority. He scored twice in Real Madrid’s 4-1 win in Cardiff, the kind of line that reflects not just scoring but the ability to make a final feel settled while it is still being played. UEFA’s finals archive says only 22 clubs have won the Champions League or European Cup, and that scarcity is the real reason performances like these loom so large: history remembers the players who changed the night, not just the players who were on it.