Following the same structure as the previous two seasons, Real Madrid once again won their group in comfort as they topped it by four clear points as Roma finished second. Liverpool and Boavista both qualified from Group B whereas in Group C, another English club, Arsenal qualified along with Panathinaikos. Juventus and FC Porto both predictably qualified from Group E and the two favorites, Bayer Leverkusen and Barcelona showed their strong value in group F. Manchester united and Deportivo came out on top of Group G whereas in  Group F, Sparta Praha and Bayern Munich qualified.
The second group stage was much tighter as Manchester United and Bayern Munich both qualified from Group A. Barcelona and Liverpool secured their passage to the last eight occupying the first two positions of Group B. Real Madrid ran out group winners of ‘C.’ Group D was more tight, as Leverkusen and Deportivo edge into the quarter finals to the expense of Arsenal and Juventus.
Panathinaikos met Barcelona in the first quarter final and after taking a 1-0 lead in the first leg, Barcelona punished them for their complacency in the return fixture as the Spanish outfit won 3-1. Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate. Manchester united was the only English club left in the semis as Liverpool crashed out against Leverkusen.
The semi final between United and Leverkusen was a thrilling encounter; the first leg produced an exhilarating 2-2 draw at old Trafford. The return leg finished 1-1 in Germany and Leverkusen were in the final on the away goals rule. Real Madrid beat Barcelona in an all Spanish tie in the second semi final.
The two heavy weights of European football met in the final, Bayer Leverkusen and real Madrid. Raul gave Madrid the lead just after eight minutes, however Leverkusen stormed back through a goal by Lucio. On the stroke of the first half, Zidane scored for Real Madrid and they ran out 2-1 winners in the final.