The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Milan 3–2 in the final, in extra time following a 2–2 draw after 90 minutes.

The English champions were ultimately defeated in the semi-finals by the eventual runners-up, Milan of Italy, after being highly touted to win the competition and dominate European football for many years like Real Madrid before them, with the "Busby Babes" having an average age of only 22.

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.

[2] 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.

Ajax, Benfica, CCA București, Dukla Prague, Glenavon, Royal Antwerp, Saint-Étienne, Sevilla, Shamrock Rovers, Stade Dudelange, Vasas, Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt and Young Boys made their debut appearances in the European Cup while Rapid Wien, AGF and Real Madrid marked their third.

[citation needed] All participants were their respective associations champions, except for Sevilla and Gwardia Warsaw.

The draw for the preliminary round took place at the headquarters of the French Football Federation in Paris on Tuesday, 23 July 1957.

[3] As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 23 teams were grouped geographically into three pots.