The 1957–58 European Cup was the third season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Milan 3–2 in the final, following a 2–2 draw after 90 minutes. This was Real Madrid's third European Cup title in a row. However, the 1957–58 season was marred by the air disaster in Munich, when eight Manchester United players lost their lives on their way home from Belgrade, after a 3–3 draw in the quarter-final second leg with Red Star Belgrade. The English champions were ultimately defeated in the semi-finals by the eventual runners-up, AC Milan of Italy. It was the first time that teams from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and East Germany participated, while Turkey could not send any club, since the Turkish FA failed to register Beşiktaş for the draw in time. Sevilla was invited despite having been runners-up in Spain the year before, as Spanish champions Real Madrid had already qualified as holders; the two Spanish sides met in the quarter-finals, the first time two sides from the same country played against each other in the competition.
The draw for the preliminary round took place at the headquarters of the French Football Federation in Paris on Tuesday, 23 July 1957. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 23 teams were grouped geographically into three pots. The first four teams drawn in each pot, and four more teams in pot 1, would play the preliminary round in September, while the remaining clubs received byes. The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.
First leg
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Second leg
Rangers won 4–3 on aggregate. ---- Aarhus won 3–0 on aggregate. ---- Sevilla won 3–1 on aggregate. ---- Red Star Belgrade won 14–1 on aggregate. ---- Manchester United won 9–2 on aggregate. ---- Vasas won 7–3 on aggregate. ---- Milan 6–6 Rapid Wien on aggregate. ---- Gwardia Warsaw 4–4 Wismut Karl Marx Stadt on aggregate.
Play-off
Milan won play-off 4–2. ---- Wismut Karl Marx Stadt qualified due to a coin toss, after their play-off against Gwardia Warsaw was abandoned with the result of 1–1 after 100 minutes due to floodlight power failure.
First round
First leg
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Second leg
Red Star Belgrade won 4–3 on aggregate. ---- Ajax won 4–1 on aggregate. ---- Real Madrid won 8–1 on aggregate. ---- Vasas won 3–2 on aggregate. ---- Manchester United won 3–1 on aggregate. ---- Sevilla won 4–2 on aggregate. ---- Borussia Dortmund 5–5 CCA București on aggregate. ---- Milan won 6–1 on aggregate.
Play-off
Borussia Dormund won the play-off 3–1.
Quarter-finals
First leg
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Second leg
Manchester United won 5–4 on aggregate. ---- Real Madrid won 10–2 on aggregate. ---- Vasas won 6–2 on aggregate. ---- Milan won 5–2 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
First leg
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Second leg
Real Madrid won 4–2 on aggregate. ---- Milan won 5–2 on aggregate.
Final
Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1957–58 European Cup were as follows:
Alfredo Di Stéfano
Bora Kostić
Lajos Csordás
Ernesto Grillo
Milan
Dennis Viollet