The 1961 European Cup final was held at the Wankdorf Stadium, Bern on 31 May 1961, and was contested by ⚾️ Portuguese side Benfica against Spanish side Barcelona. This was the first final not to include Real Madrid, who had won ⚾️ the previous five finals. Benfica lifted the trophy for the first time, beating Barcelona 3–2.
Benfica midfielder Mario Coluna broke his ⚾️ nose in the eighth minute of the match; not wanting to risk further damage, when Domiciano Cavém put over a ⚾️ cross in the 55th minute, Coluna hung back outside the penalty area. The ball was cleared directly to him and ⚾️ he volleyed it home for Benfica's third goal of the match.[2]
Route to the final [ edit ]
Five-time defending champions Real ⚾️ Madrid were knocked out in the first round by Barcelona, their bitter domestic rivals. After defeating Czechoslovak champions Hradec Králové ⚾️ in the quarter-finals, Barcelona initially drew 2–2 on aggregate with West German champions Hamburger SV in the semi-finals. Since this ⚾️ was before UEFA competitions began using the away goals rule, in order to determine who would advance to the final, ⚾️ a replay was scheduled to be played at a neutral site on 3 May. Barça would qualify for the final ⚾️ by winning the replay 1–0 at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, with Evaristo scoring the decisive goal.[3]
Meanwhile, Benfica reached ⚾️ the final of the competition by eliminating Austrian champions Rapid Wien in a 4–1 semi-final aggregate win. This marked the ⚾️ first time that a team from Portugal had ever progressed this far into the competition.