Galatasaray overcame Bologna, Borussia Dortmund, Mallorca and Leeds United on their way, while Arsenal defeated Nantes, Deportivo La Coruña, Werder Bremen and Lens.

[12] The first game was played at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, which ended in a 1–1 draw; the Italian side took the lead after a Giuseppe Signori goal during the second half, before Hakan Şükür levelled the score, with eight minutes remaining.

[19] At Elland Road, their second match ended in a 2–2 stalemate, with Gheorghe Hagi and Şükür netting, thus winning the tie 4–2 and proceeding to the final.

[12] At their home venue, Arsenal Stadium, they defeated the French club 3–0,[23] before recording a 3–3 draw at the Stade de la Beaujoire, ensuring the Gunners a 6–3 aggregate victory.

[12] Arsenal played at their home ground in the first match, and comprehensively beat the Spanish outfit by five goals to one,[25] before suffering a 2–1 loss at Estadio Municipal de Riazor, which was still enough to take the English side to the next round on aggregate.

[27] Arsenal sealed their place in the semi-finals in the second leg played at the Weserstadion, a match which they won 4–2 after Ray Parlour's hat-trick and a lone Henry goal to register a 6–2 aggregate win.

[30] Galatasaray and Arsenal met each other for the first time in a European football competition, though the Turkish outfit had faced English clubs formerly on eight occasions.

[34][35] Other meetings include against West Bromwich Albion in the commencing round of the 1978–79 UEFA Cup,[36][37] and Chelsea in this year's Champions League campaign.

[40][41] Arsenal had a better European record, compared to Galatasaray going into the match; they defeated Anderlecht with a 4–3 aggregate winning result, in the final of the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

[56] Problems ensued after it was revealed that Galatasaray had been charging the tickets more than the original price, in order to prevent some football hooligans from entering the ground.

[62] It was the home of the Denmark national football team and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub's (KB) matches, until 1990,[63][64] when the venue underwent reconstruction by the Danish lending company Baltica Finans A/S,[62] with the former scrapped in favour of the new name, Parken Stadium.

[62] The concept was supported by the Danish Football Union with a contract that all of Denmark's national games would take place at the stadium for fifteen years.

[78] The Spaniard made his European debut in the second leg of the first-round tie between Manchester United and Kispest Honvéd in the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League.

[78] Nieto was joined by assistant referees Fernando Tresaco Gracia and Victoriano Giráldez Carrasco and fourth official Arturo Daudén Ibáñez.

[81] The act was succeeded by an appearance from Danish pop singer and actor Stig Rossen, who sang an alternative version of the notable song "Wonderful Copenhagen".

[85] In the United Kingdom, BBC One, the main channel of the public television corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation acquired the rights for the final;[86] the network broadcast the event, with live commentary provided by veteran professional sports pundit and television presenter Barry Davies, who was assisted by former English footballer Trevor Brooking.

[90] Arsenal fashioned more chances, as Overmars won a one-on-one encounter against Capone, trying to reach Bergkamp, but the ball was easily read by Popescu and put out for a corner.

[91] A third of the match played, Arsenal were awarded a free-kick after Okan Buruk received a yellow card for a slide tackle on Vieira.

One minute later, Galatasaray's first opportunity came when Erdem received a straight ball from a Hagi-taken free-kick and took a shot, which goalkeeper David Seaman managed to keep out with his left hand for a corner.

Arsenal would create more opportunities, when Sylvinho snatched the ball from Hagi and ran down Galatasaray's left, before putting in a cross to the running Henry, who was halted by a clearance from Bülent Korkmaz.

[90] Arsenal began creating more chances – in the 35th minute, Overmars made a low powerful shot on goal, forcing Cláudio Taffarel to make a diving save.

[90] A throw-in by Hagi led to Şükür attempting to reach Erdem, who was in the penalty area, but he was tackled and play continued,[90] which saw Arsenal attack on the counter under Parlour, whose volley went wide.

[92] As a result, Arsenal began to put the Turkish side under pressure by creating more chances through Henry, who almost won the game when he directed a header on goal from a long cross by Parlour,[90] which Taffarel managed to keep out.

[90] Near the start of the second half in extra time, Galatasaray's first opportunity came, when Şükür attempted a shot from a Popescu cross,[90] but the ball hit the side netting.

Korkmaz celebrated by raising the silverware, together with Şükür and the rest of the Galatasaray squad on the podium, including the ejected Hagi himself as golden confetti rained down.

Wenger was also unhappy with the decision made by UEFA officials regarding a coin toss during extra time, which would affect where the spot kicks would be taken.

[101][102] The win was widely celebrated in Turkey; Galatasaray players and staff received a hero's welcome in Istanbul from the club's fans.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports minister Fikret Ünlü [tr], who attended the final, described the performance as "marvelous" and "a big present from Galatasaray to Turkey".

[104] Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the President of Turkey highlighted the club's success by awarding the team with the State Medal of Distinguished Service, as a result for winning the country's first European competition.

[106][107] The final was overshadowed by riots between the two sides – it began when Galatasaray fans stormed a club in Strøget, composed of Arsenal supporters.