1967–68 European Cup Explained

Tourney Name:European Cup
Year:1967–68
Dates:20 September 1967 – 29 May 1968
Num Teams:32 (31 competed)
Champion Other: Manchester United
Count:1
Second Other: Benfica
Matches:60
Goals:162
Attendance:2059590
Top Scorer:Eusébio (Benfica)
6 goals
Prevseason:1966–67
Nextseason:1968–69

The 1967–68 European Cup was the 13th European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Manchester United, who beat Benfica 4–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium, London. The European Cup title marked the tenth year since the Munich air disaster, in which eight United players were killed and their manager, Matt Busby, was left close to death, the day after earning a place in the semi-finals of the 1957–58 competition. It was also the first time an English side had won the trophy.

The away goals rule (which had already been used in the Cup Winners' Cup and the Fairs' Cup) was introduced if aggregate scores were level after two legs, but only for the first round of the competition. Extra time goals were not included in the rule.

Celtic were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Dynamo Kyiv in the first round.

First round

|}

First leg

--------------------------------------------------------

Second leg

Sarajevo won 5–3 on aggregate.----Manchester United won 4–0 on aggregate.----Dynamo Kyiv won 3–2 on aggregate.----Górnik Zabrze won 4–0 on aggregate.----Hvidovre won 5–4 on aggregate.----Real Madrid won 3–2 on aggregate.----Sparta Prague won 2–1 on aggregate.----Anderlecht won 5–2 on aggregate.----Vasas won 9–1 on aggregate.----4–4 on aggregate; Valur won on away goals.----1–1 on aggregate; Benfica won on away goals.----Saint-Étienne won 5–0 on aggregate.----Rapid Wien won 4–0 on aggregate.----Juventus won 2–0 on aggregate.----Rapid București won 3–2 on aggregate.

Second round

|}

First leg

----------------------------

Second leg

Manchester United won 2–1 on aggregate.----Górnik Zabrze won 3–2 on aggregate.----Real Madrid won 6–3 on aggregate.----Sparta Prague won 6–5 on aggregate.----Vasas won 11–1 on aggregate.----Benfica won 2–1 on aggregate.----Eintracht Braunschweig won 2–1 on aggregate.----Juventus won 1–0 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

|}

1 Juventus beat Eintracht Braunschweig 1–0 in a play-off to reach the semi-finals.

First leg

------------

Second leg

Manchester United won 2–1 on aggregate.----Real Madrid won 4–2 on aggregate.----Benfica won 3–0 on aggregate.----Juventus 3–3 Eintracht Braunschweig on aggregate.

Juventus won 1–0 in a play-off.

Semi-finals

|}

First leg

----

Second leg

Manchester United won 4–3 on aggregate.

----Benfica won 3–0 on aggregate.

Final

See main article: 1968 European Cup Final.

Top scorers

RankNameTeamGoals
1 Eusébio Benfica6
2 Francisco Gento Real Madrid5
Václav Mašek Sparta Prague5
Paul Van Himst Anderlecht5
5 Amancio Real Madrid4
Hermann Gunnarsson Valur4
Włodzimierz Lubański Górnik Zabrze4
8 Boško Antić Sarajevo3
George Best Manchester United3
János Farkas Vasas3
István Korsós Vasas3
Ivan Mráz Sparta Prague3
Pirri Real Madrid3
János Radics Vasas3
David Sadler Manchester United3
Source: [1]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Season 1967/68 Player stats . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 30 May 2022 .