With the UEFA Champions League semi-finals completed, we now know who will be fighting for the title of “Europe’s best.” On June 1st, Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) will be taking on Liverpool F.C. (ENG) for the title after a beyond exhilarating week in soccer. This past Tuesday, Liverpool and Barcelona battled it out for a place in the final, and on Wednesday, Spurs and Ajax did the same.

Both English teams made historic comebacks last week in the second leg of the semi-finals to punch their ticket into the final, with Liverpool coming back from a 3-0 defeat in the first leg at Barcelona’s Camp Nou. Back at Anfield, the Reds were able to beat the Catalan giants by four goals to overcome their slower start in Barcelona, giving them their ticket to the final in Madrid.

“I think Barcelona played really well the first game, beating Liverpool 3-0 but in the second leg they just couldn’t get past Virgil Van Dijk and the fans at Anfield,  so they gave Liverpool the win,” said sophomore Daniel Arnatu.

For the north London side, Spurs lost 1-0 to Ajax in the first leg making a comeback not impossible but challenging nonetheless. However, the comeback seemed unlikely after a 35th-minute goal by Hakim Ziyech to put the Dutch giants up 2-0. Spurs would have to score three goals in order to pass into the final, in half a game. The challenge was daunting, but Brazilian striker Lucas Moura was 100% committed to making it to the final.

“The game was crazy, and I can’t believe Ajax lost after scoring two goals in the first half. But, that’s how the game goes.” said sophomore Aida Mehicevic.

In the last 35 minutes of the game, Moura was able to bag three goals in order to inch Spurs into the final, as the aggregate score was 3-3, but Spurs won on away goals as the English side had three and the Dutch side only had one.

With the final set, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool will be battling it out on June 1st in Madrid for the Champions League trophy.

“I believe Liverpool will bring home the Champions League trophy this year mainly because of how strong they are. Finishing second place in the final last year and being back this year is impressive, so with their experience and world-class players, the final seems to be theirs,” said sophomore Aldin Perazic.

This will be the first all English Champions League final ever since the 2007-08 season where Manchester United and Chelsea F.C. went head to head. This will also be the first time in history in which the top European competitions (UEFA Champions and Europa League) will have all English teams in the finals. The Champions League final in Madrid is looking to be one of pure grit, where both sides made remarkable comebacks in order to be in the place they’re in right now.