The teams that have lost the most times in a Champions League final

Reaching the Champions League final is a tall order with few teams boasting of having achieved it. A defeat in the final is a stab at the hearts of both players and fans.

If this happens repeatedly, fear takes over and the club can start to feel the added pressure to finally achieve their dream. Below is the list of teams that have lost the most times in a Champions League final.

Juventus have lost far more finals than they have won, with a record of 2 wins and 7 defeats. The last one, in Cardiff (Wales), in 2017, where Real Madrid ran out as comfortable 4-1 winners.

We have to go back to 1973 to find Juve's first defeat in a Champions League final. It was against Ajax where they fell 1- 0. 10 years later they would fall by the same scoreline to Hamburg.

Against Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real Madrid in 1998, Juve would fall 3-1 and 1-0 respectively. In an all-Italian affair in 2003 they succumbed to Milan on penalties. It was another 12 years before the Old Lady returned to a Champions League final, losing 3-1 yet again, this time to Barcelona. The aforementioned defeat to Real Madrid rounds out their list of final defeats.

Bayern Munich have 6 cup win, but it could have been so many more, in fact, they have lost five Champions League finals.

In 2012, they lost the final on penalties against a Chelsea side that had somehow scraped through to the final. Two years earlier, José Mourinho's Inter beat Bayern Munich 2-0.

The 1999 final is one of the greatest comebacks in football history with Manchester United scoring in the 91st and 93rd minutes to overcome the German side. A heartbreaking loss.

1987 and 1982 saw the other two finals defeats with the Bavarians falling 2-1 to Porto and 1-0 to Aston Villa, a result which would be shocking today.

Benfica won their first two consecutive Champions League finals, under Béla Guttman in charge, in 1961 and 1962. But the Hungarian manager decided to leave the club, due to financial discrepancies. Before leaving he cursed: "Without me you won't win a European title in 100 years".

The curse began to take effect in 1963, when Benfica lost 2-1 to Milan. Two years later, in 1965, they would lose again, this time against Inter 1-0. In 1968 the Portuguese fell 4-1 after extra time to Manchester United.

It took Benfica 20 years to play in another Champions League final. It was 1988 and the result was the same again: defeat on penalties against PSV Eindhoven. Two years later, against Milan, they fell once again at the final hurdle, with a solitary goal from Rijkaard proving an unassailable lead.

Since 1990, Benfica have not played in a Champions League final. Fortunately they will expect to be back winning European finals in less than 40 years once Béla Guttman's curse is broken...

With seven trophies in the cabinet, AC Milan belongs to the elite of the Champions League. Their first final came in 1958, the third edition of the tournament, where they lost 3-2 against Di Stefano's legendary Real Madrid.

During the first half of the 1990s, AC Milan dominated football throughout Europe, despite losing the 1993 and 1995 finals to Olympique de Marseille and Ajax Amsterdam respectively, both 1-0.

But few defeats are as painful as the one suffered in the 2005 final against Liverpool. The Rossoneri went into half-time winning 3-0, but the English side came from behind to win in dramatic fashion, eventually triumphing on penalties after a stunning comeback.

Next up is Liverpool, who share a similar number of final defeats to Milan with four. To think it could have been even more were it not for Jerzy Dudek'd heroics in the 2005 final.

It seems clear that Real Madrid has become Liverpool's arch-nemesis, having won the 2022 (1-0) and 2018 (3-1) finals.

Liverpool had already lost finals in 1985 and 2007, against Juventus (1-0) and against a Milan side that took just two years to take revenge for the 2005 final, winning 2-1.

Real Madrid's stats in the Champions League finals are scary. Having has won 14 out of 17 finals, including their last eight in a row.

Crazily, the Spanish side have not lost a Champions League final since 1981, when they fell to Liverpool, thanks to a late goal from Alan Kennedy.

Benfica (5-3) in 1962 and Helenio Herrera's Inter (3-1) in 1964 are the other two teams that can boast of having won a Champions League final against Real Madrid.

FC Barcelona have collected five trophies and won the last four finals they played in.

Of course, they have also tasted the pain of defeat, and the first time it happened was against Benfica in 1961, when they lost 3-2.

In 1986 Barca will lose against Steaua Bucharest. The penalty shoot was a how-to of how not to take penalties with six out of the eight attempts missing the target. Steaua Bucharest ran out 2-0 winners on penalties with Barca missing all four of their shots.

More painful was the 1994 defeat against Fabio Capello's Milan, who overwhelmed Barcelona with a sensational 4-0 victory.

Atletico Madrid are the only team in this list not to have won a single Champions League and, in turn, the only one not to have lost a final, at least in regular time. All of their finals have gone past the 90-minute mark making their heartbreaker all the more difficult to take.

Like Liverpool, Atletico Madrid have found their worst enemy in Real Madrid. The 2014 final ended 1-1 in regular time but, in extra time, Real Madrid scored three goals (4-1) to claim the trophy as worthy winners.

The 2016 final also finished 1-1, but this time it went to penalties. 9 of 10 shots were scored. Only Atletico legend Juanfran missed his penalty, causing his team to lose the cup.

You have to go back to 1974 for Atletico Madrid's first Champions League final, a match they drew with Bayern Munich. Two days later they played the tie-breaker and the Germans defeated the Spaniards, winning 4-0, with goals from Hoeneß and Müller.