The 1970âÂÂ71 European Cup was the 16th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Ajax, who beat Panathinaikos in the final at Wembley Stadium in London, on 2 June 1971. It was the first time the trophy went to Ajax, beginning a three-year period of domination, and the second consecutive championship for the Netherlands. It was also the first time that a Greek team reached the final.
UEFA had introduced for the first time penalty shoot-out as a way of deciding drawn ties â doing away with the unsatisfactory tossing of a coin. They had also decided that the away goals rule should apply to all rounds, and not just the first two, as had been the case.
This season marked the first time in European Cup history that Real Madrid failed to qualify for the tournament, having appeared in all 15 previous seasons.
Feyenoord, the defending champions, were eliminated by Romanian club UTA Arad in the first round.
Austria Wien won 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Cagliari won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Atlético Madrid won 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Standard Liège won 7âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Legia Warsaw won 6âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Ajax won 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
4âÂÂ4 on aggregate; Basel won on away goals.
Waterford won 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Celtic won 14âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Carl Zeiss Jena won 5âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Sporting CP won 9âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Red Star Belgrade won 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
1âÂÂ1 on aggregate; UTA Arad won on away goals.
Borussia Mönchengladbach won 16âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Everton won 9âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Panathinaikos won 7âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Slovan Bratislava won 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Atlético Madrid won 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Legia Warsaw won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Ajax won 5âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Celtic won 10âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Carl Zeiss Jena won 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Red Star Belgrade won 6âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
2âÂÂ2 on aggregate; Everton won on penalties.
Panathinaikos won 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
2âÂÂ2 on aggregate; Atlético Madrid won on away goals.
Ajax won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Red Star Belgrade won 6âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
1âÂÂ1 on aggregate; Panathinaikos won on away goals.
Ajax won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
4âÂÂ4 on aggregate; Panathinaikos won on away goals.
The top scorers from the 1970âÂÂ71 European Cup (excluding preliminary round) are as follows: