# 1968–69 European Cup

The 1968–69 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won by AC 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.
Manchester United were the defending champions, but were eliminated by eventual champions Milan in the semi-finals.

## Teams

A total of 32 teams participated in the competition.
Thirty-one leagues were represented, with England being represented by its most recent champion, Manchester City, as well as defending European champion, Manchester United.
Real Madrid made their 14th consecutive appearance in the competition, while Anderlecht and Benfica each made their ninth appearances. Nürnberg and Steaua București both made their first appearances in the competition since the 1961-62 European Cup.
This year's competition included only five debutants: Denmark's AB, Cyprus's AEL Limassol, England's Manchester City, Norway's Rosenborg, and Czechoslovakia's Spartak Trnava. This was the smallest number to date.
| Rapid Wien (1st) | Anderlecht (1st) | Levski-Spartak (1st) | AEL Limassol (1st) |
| Spartak Trnava (1st) | AB (1st) | Manchester City (1st) | Manchester United (2nd) |
| Reipas Lahti (1st) | Saint-Étienne (1st) | Carl Zeiss Jena (1st) | Nürnberg (1st) |
| AEK Athens (1st) | Ferencváros (1st) | Valur (1st) | Waterford (1st) |
| Milan (1st) | Jeunesse Esch (1st) | Floriana (1st) | Ajax (1st) |
| Glentoran (1st) | Rosenborg (1st) | Ruch Chorzów (1st) | Benfica (1st) |
| Steaua București (1st) | Celtic (1st) | Real Madrid (1st) | Malmö FF (1st) |
| Zürich (1st) | Fenerbahçe (1st) | Dynamo Kyiv (1st) | Red Star Belgrade (1st) |

## Bracket

| First round | First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | |
| Malmö FF | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Milan | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Milan | 1 | 4 | 5 | Milan | | | Bye | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dynamo Kyiv | | | (w) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ruch Chorzów | | | (o) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ruch Chorzów | | | (o) | | | | | Milan | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Celtic | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| Saint-Étienne | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | Celtic | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Celtic | 0 | 4 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Celtic | 0 | 4 | 4 | Celtic | 5 | 1 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Red Star Belgrade | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Red Star Belgrade | | | (w) | Red Star Belgrade | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | | | (o) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | | | (o) | | | | | | | | | | Milan | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Manchester United | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| Waterford | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Manchester United | 0 | 1 | 1 | | |
| Manchester United | 3 | 7 | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Manchester United | 3 | 7 | 10 | Manchester United | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Anderlecht | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Anderlecht | 3 | 2 | 5 | Anderlecht | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Glentoran | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Glentoran | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | Manchester United | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Rapid Wien | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| Rosenborg | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | | Rapid Wien | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Rapid Wien | 3 | 3 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rapid Wien | 3 | 3 | 6 | Rapid Wien | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Real Madrid | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Real Madrid | 6 | 6 | 12 | Real Madrid | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| AEL Limassol | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| AEL Limassol | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Milan | 4 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ajax | 1 | |
| Nurnberg | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ajax | 1 |
| Ajax | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ajax | 1 | 4 | 5 | Ajax | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Fenerbahçe | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Manchester City | 0 | 1 | 1 | Fenerbahçe | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fenerbahçe | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fenerbahçe | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | Ajax | 1 | 3 | 4 (3) | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Benfica | 3 | 1 | 4 (0) | | | | | | | | | |
| Valur | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | Benfica | 3 | 1 | 4 (0) | | | | | | | |
| Benfica | 0 | 8 | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Benfica | 0 | 8 | 8 | Benfica | | | Bye | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Levski Sofia | | | (w) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ferencváros | | | (o) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ferencváros | | | (o) | | | | | | | | | | Ajax | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Spartak Trnava | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| Floriana | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Spartak Trnava | 0 | 2 | 2 | | |
| Reipas Lahti | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Reipas Lahti | 1 | 2 | 3 | Reipas Lahti | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Spartak Trnava | 9 | 7 | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Steaua București | 3 | 0 | 3 | Spartak Trnava | 9 | 7 | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Spartak Trnava | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Spartak Trnava | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | Spartak Trnava | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | AEK Athens | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| AEK Athens | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | AEK Athens | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Jeunesse Esch | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jeunesse Esch | 0 | 3 | 3 | AEK Athens | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | AB | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Zürich | 1 | 2 | 3 | AB | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| AB | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Malmö FF | 3–5 | Milan | 2–1 | 1–4 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | (w/o) | Ruch Chorzów | – | – |
| Saint-Étienne | 2–4 | Celtic | 2–0 | 0–4 |
| Red Star Belgrade | (w/o) | Carl Zeiss Jena | – | – |
| Waterford | 2–10 | Manchester United | 1–3 | 1–7 |
| Anderlecht | 5–2 | Glentoran | 3–0 | 2–2 |
| Rosenborg | 4–6 | Rapid Wien | 1–3 | 3–3 |
| Real Madrid | 12–0 | AEL Limassol | 6–0 | 6–0 |
| Nürnberg | 1–5 | Ajax | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Manchester City | 1–2 | Fenerbahçe | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Valur | 1–8 | Benfica | 0–0 | 1–8 |
| Levski-Spartak | (w/o) | Ferencváros | – | – |
| Floriana | 1–3 | Reipas Lahti | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Steaua București | 3–5 | Spartak Trnava | 3–1 | 0–4 |
| AEK Athens | 5–3 | Jeunesse Esch | 3–0 | 2–3 |
| Zürich | 3–4 | AB | 1–3 | 2–1 |

### 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

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Milan | Bye | – | – | – |
| Celtic | 6–2 | Red Star Belgrade | 5–1 | 1–1 |
| Manchester United | 4–3 | Anderlecht | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| Rapid Wien | 2–2 (a) | Real Madrid | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Ajax | 4–0 | Fenerbahçe | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Benfica | Bye | – | – | – |
| Reipas Lahti | 2–16 | Spartak Trnava | 1–9 | 1–7 |
| AEK Athens | 2–0 | AB | 0–0 | 2–0 |

### First leg

The home leg of Reipas Lahti was played in Vienna just before the Rapid Wien–Real Madrid match.

### 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

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Play-off |
| Milan | 1–0 | Celtic | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Manchester United | 3–0 | Rapid Wien | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Ajax | 4–4 | Benfica | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| Spartak Trnava | 3–2 | AEK Athens | 2–1 | 1–1 |

### 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

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Milan | 2–1 | Manchester United | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Ajax | 3–2 | Spartak Trnava | 3–0 | 0–2 |

### Second leg

Milan won 2–1 on aggregate.
Ajax won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Top scorers

The top scorers from the 1968–69 European Cup are as follows:
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Denis Law | Manchester United | 9 |
| 2 | Johan Cruyff | Ajax | 6 |
| 2 | Pierino Prati | Milan | 6 |
| 4 | Jozef Adamec | Spartak Trnava | 5 |
| 4 | Ladislav Kuna | Spartak Trnava | 5 |
| 4 | José Augusto Torres | Benfica | 5 |
| 7 | Gerard Bergholtz | Anderlecht | 4 |
| 7 | Inge Danielsson | Ajax | 4 |
| 7 | Odd Iversen | Rosenborg | 4 |
| 7 | Pirri | Real Madrid | 4 |
| 7 | Valér Švec | Spartak Trnava | 4 |