14th season of the UEFA club football tournament
1968–69 European Cup Dates 18 September 1968 – 28 May 1969 Teams 32 (27 competed) Champions Milan (2nd title) Runners-up Ajax Matches played 52 Goals scored 176 (3.38 per match) Attendance 1,738,847 (33,439 per match) Top scorer(s) Denis Law (Manchester United) 9 goals
International football competition
The 1968–69 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won by Milan , who beat Ajax 4–1 in the final , giving Milan its first European Cup title since 1963, and its second overall. A number of Eastern Bloc clubs withdrew from the first two rounds when UEFA paired up all of the Eastern Bloc clubs against one another in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia .
Substitutions of two players at any game time were allowed; obligatory match dates were introduced (two weeks between the legs) and fixed on Wednesdays; the away goal rule was extended to the first and second rounds.[ 1]
Manchester United were the defending champions , but were eliminated by Eventual Champions Milan in the semi-finals.
Teams
Bracket
First round
First leg
Second leg
Milan won 5–3 on aggregate.
Celtic won 4–2 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 10–2 on aggregate.
Anderlecht won 5–2 on aggregate.
Rapid Wien won 6–4 on aggregate.
Real Madrid won 12–0 on aggregate.
Ajax won 5–1 on aggregate.
Fenerbahçe won 2–1 on aggregate.
Benfica won 8–1 on aggregate.
Reipas Lahti won 3–1 on aggregate.
Spartak Trnava won 5–3 on aggregate.
AEK Athens won 5–3 on aggregate.
AB won 4–3 on aggregate.
Second round
First leg
The home leg of Reipas Lahti was played in Vienna just before the Rapid Wien –Real Madrid match.[ 7]
Second leg
Celtic won 6–2 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 4–3 on aggregate.
Rapid Wien won 2–2 on away goals.
Ajax won 4–0 on aggregate.
Spartak Trnava won 16–2 on aggregate.
AEK Athens won 2–0 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
1 Ajax beat Benfica 3–0 in a play-off.
First leg
Second leg
Milan won 1–0 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 3–0 on aggregate.
4–4 on aggregate. Tie is decided by a tie-breaker match on neutral ground.
Spartak Trnava won 3–2 on aggregate.
Tie-breakers
Ajax win the tie-breaker.
Semi-finals
First leg
Second leg
Milan won 2–1 on aggregate.
Ajax won 3–2 on aggregate.
Final
Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1968–69 European Cup are as follows:
References
External links
European Cup era, 1955–1992
Seasons Finals
UEFA Champions League era, 1992–present
Seasons Finals
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