FC Barcelona had one of its most successful seasons in the club's history, winning the domestic league competition and reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League. There, Barcelona stumbled on eventual champions AC Milan by 2 goals of Daniele Massaro, Dejan Savićević and Marcel Desailly, which ensured Barcelona lost the final for the first year running of UEFA Champions League current format. The progress to the final had been constantly flawless. Indeed, on their way to the final in Athens, the Catalans had win four games and two draws to reach semifinals. They had needed to win their matchday five fixture against [Galatasaray] to seal the semifinal, where Spartak Moscow held them to a 2-2 draw in Moscow in the first leg.