English teams to have won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League Double

Whether it is harder to win the Premier League or UEFA Champions League has become a fun topic of debate amongst English football fans, never mind the feat of claiming both prizes in the same season.

Dating back to the pre-Premier League and UEFA Champions League era, with these competitions previously known as the First Division and European Cup respectively, this achievement has been recorded a total of five times by English teams.

We examine these distinguished teams who are naturally considered amongst the greatest English club sides of all time.

Liverpool - 1976/77

Liverpool became the first English team to win both the national league title and European Cup in the same season under Bob Paisley in 1976/77.

A Liverpool team made up entirely of players from Britain and Ireland pipped Manchester City to the First Division title by a single point, with the Reds booking a European Cup final meeting with Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome having navigated their way past Crusaders, Trabzonspor, Saint Etienne and FC Zurich.

The Reds and Monchengladbach were familiar opponents having faced each other previously in the 1973 UEFA Cup final, which Liverpool won 3-2 over two legs, but the 1977 Stadio Olimpico showpiece marked the first time both clubs had ever reached a European Cup Final.

Paisley's charges were able to rise to the occasion in the Italian capital, with goals from Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and Phil Neal enough to seal a 3-1 victory over their German adversaries.

Although Liverpool's star man in their 1976/77 campaign Kevin Keegan was pipped to the 1977 Ballon d'Or by Monchengladbach forward Simonsen, 'King Kev' went on to win the prestigious award in the next two years whilst on the books of Hamburg.

Liverpool could have won an unprecedented Treble of trophies in 1976/77, but were edged 2-1 by rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

Liverpool starting XI in 1977 European Cup Final v Borussia Monchengladbach at Stadio Olimpico, Rome:

(4-4-2): Clemence, Neal, Smith, Hughes (c), Jones, Callaghan, Case, McDermott, Kennedy, Keegan, Heighway.

Liverpool - 1983/84

Liverpool were able to replicate their exploits of 1976/77 seven years later, with Joe Fagan's Reds lifting both the English league title and European Cup in the 1983/84 campaign.

Again this famous Liverpool side was primarily made up of homegrown talent, with Zimbabwean goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar the one exception.

Legendary full-back Phil Neal was the sole remaining player from the Double-winning side assembled by Bob Paisley seven years previously.

The Class of 1983/84 was arguably even more talented than their 1976/77 predecessors, with the Reds skippered by Scottish midfield general Graeme Souness and boasting one of the most potent forward lines in English football history in the form of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush.

Liverpool finished just three points ahead of Southampton in second in the First Division table, with Welsh hitman Ian Rush the top scorer in England's top flight with an astounding 32 goals.

In the European Cup, Liverpool made their way past Odense, Athletic Bilbao, Benfica and Dinamo Bucharest to set up a final scheduled to take place at the Stadio Olimpico - the home of their opponents Roma.

Although Liverpool were three-time European Cup winners and Roma were competing in their first ever final in the competition, the Italian outfit were rated as pre-match favourites ahead of the contest at their home stadium.

The 1984 European Cup final developed into an evenly-fought battle, with Phil Neal putting Liverpool ahead with his second goal in the biggest fixture in European club football, before Italian forward Roberto Pruzzo levelled for Roma shortly before half-time.

The match would end up being decided by penalty kicks, with Liverpool goalkeeper Grobbelaar's famous wobbly legs routine helping to put off the Roma takers before Alan Kennedy guided home the winning spot kick for the Reds.

Liverpool's success over Everton in a two-legged League Cup final - with Graeme Souness scoring the sole goal in a 1-0 win at Maine Road in the second clash - saw Fagan's side become the first English team to win three major trophies in the same season.

The Merseysiders would not get their hands on the FA Cup, however, losing 2-0 away at Brighton in the fourth round.

Liverpool starting XI in 1984 European Cup Final v Roma at Stadio Olimpico, Rome:

(4-4-2): Grobbelaar, Neal, Lawrenson, Hansen, Kennedy, Johnston, Lee, Souness (c), Whelan, Dalglish, Rush.

Manchester United - 1998/99

Manchester United became the second English club to win the domestic league title and UEFA Champions League in the same season in 1998/99, with an FA Cup triumph seeing them become the first team from England to complete this Treble of trophies.

Man Utd's historic 1998/99 season overseen by Sir Alex Ferguson displayed the merits of youth development in football in vivid fashion, with this famed Red Devils side made up of a number of academy products - including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers.

This group of talented youthful academy graduates, dubbed the 'Class of 92', brought a freshness to a United side which also benefited from a formidable spine comprised of more established first team players such as Peter Schmeichel, Jaap Stam, Roy Keane and Andy Cole.

Kicking off a remarkable 10-day period which saw the team become history makers, Ferguson's Man Utd were forced to show grit to fight back from a goal down at home to Tottenham to prevail 2-1 courtesy of goals from David Beckham and Andy Cole to pip Arsenal to the title on the final day of the Premier League season.

Six days later the Red Devils lined up for the FA Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley, with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes enough to see Man Utd seal their 10th success in the competition in relatively comfortable fashion.

Attention then turned to arguably the biggest prize of all, with Man Utd to take on Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.

The English champions' preparations for the European showpiece had been rocked by the unavailability of influential midfield duo Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, who were both suspended.

A makeshift United side would somehow still find a way in one of the most dramatic European Cup finals of all time.

Appearing down and out as the final entered injury-time, with Bayern 1-0 up following Mario Basler's sixth-minute opener, the Red Devils were miraculously able to claw victory from the jaws of defeat with substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer finding the net in the 91st and 93rd minutes respectively.

It would take almost a quarter of a century for another English team to replicate this unprecedented Treble clinched by Ferguson's immortalised Man Utd side of 1998/99.

Manchester United starting XI in 1999 UEFA Champions League Final v Bayern Munich at Camp Nou, Barcelona:

(4-4-2): Schmeichel (c), G.Neville, Johnsen, Stam, Irwin, Giggs, Beckham, Butt, Blomqvist, Yorke, Cole.

Manchester United - 2007/08

Man Utd won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League in the same season again in 2007/08 with one of the finest squads Sir Alex Ferguson ever assembled at Old Trafford.

Again there was a strong homegrown core at the heart of United's success, with academy graduates including Wes Brown, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs backed up by other British talent such as Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney.

There was also more than a hint of foreign class within Ferguson's indomitable United side of 2007/08, with Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra outstanding at the back and Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez devastating going forward.

One half of a compelling rivalry with Chelsea, who were managed by Avram Grant from September onwards in the 2007/08 campaign following the departure of Jose Mourinho, Man Utd only sealed the Premier League title on the final day of the season amidst stiff pressure from the Blues in second.

Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs in a 2-0 win away at Wigan saw United seal a 17th English league title - the 10th of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign at Old Trafford.

The greatness of this Man Utd team of 2007/08 was underlined just 10 days on from their Premier League title win at Wigan as Ferguson's charges faced domestic rivals Chelsea in the first ever all-English UEFA Champions League final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Both Man Utd and Chelsea had prevailed at home in the Premier League encounters between the pair in 2007/08, the most recent clash seeing the Blues win 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in April 2008 - less than a month before the UEFA Champions League final.

It was therefore perhaps unsurprising to see the 2008 UEFA Champions League unfold into a close affair, with the two teams unable to be be separated following 120 minutes with Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard both netting in a 1-1 draw.

The European champions were to be crowned following a penalty shootout, with Chelsea skipper John Terry infamously slipping to miss a decisive spot kick before Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka to seal Man Utd's epic victory.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest Man Utd teams of all time, Portuguese talisman Ronaldo later received the Ballon d'Or award for the first time in his career in light of his sensational achievements in 2008.

Manchester United starting XI in 2008 UEFA Champions League Final v Chelsea at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow:

(4-4-2): van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand (c), Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez.

Manchester City - 2022/23

Manchester City became only the second English club to win the Treble of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup along with neighbours Man Utd under Pep Guardiola in 2022/23.

Already six-time Premier League champions following the landscape-changing takeover of Sheikh Mansour in 2008, it was the UEFA Champions League crown which continued to elude the Citizens.

With every passing year the Citizens failed to get their hands on the European prize, going closest in 2021 when reaching the final before succumbing to Chelsea in Porto, the craving appeared to get stronger and stronger.

Erling Haaland, snapped up from from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, was billed as potentially representing the final piece in the jigsaw in City's pursuit to finally be crowned champions of Europe.

Although already rated as one of the best young strikers in Europe given his goalscoring exploits for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, few could have predicted the seismic impact the Norwegian would have in Manchester - registering 36 Premier League goals in his debut season to break the all-time record as City swept to the title.

Pep Guardiola's side were presented the opportunity to secure a domestic Double in hugely satisfying fashion ahead of a meeting with rivals Manchester United in the Wembley final.

Skipper Ilkay Gundogan bagged a decisive brace - the first of which the fastest ever goal in an FA Cup final after just 12 seconds - as City were able to beat rivals United 2-1 at the national stadium.

City's FA Cup win at Wembley left them with only one remaining obstacle in their quest to match rivals Man Utd's Treble-winning exploits of 1998/99 in the form of the UEFA Champions League.

Overcoming RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the knockout rounds, City booked a place in their second UEFA Champions League final where they would face Italians Inter at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

Far from the most exhilarating European final of all time, with Simone Inzaghi's Inter primarily seeking to remain compact without the ball and City perhaps a tad nervy in their pursuit of their maiden UEFA Champions League title, the Istanbul showpiece was ultimately decided by a single goal.

The winning goal arrived via one of the key cornerstones of Guardiola's juggernaut of a City side, with Spanish international midfielder Rodri benefiting from a break of the ball in the box before drilling home with aplomb.

By clinching the Treble, this Man City team established by Guardiola cemented their reputation as one of England's all-time great club sides.

Manchester City starting XI in 2023 UEFA Champions League Final v Inter Milan at Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul:

(3-2-4-1): Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan (c), Grealish, Haaland.

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