Europe's elite club competition returned in September with the biggest clubs in the game beginning their continental conquest.

Each and every year, the Champions League delivers spectacular football and this season promises to be no different.

It is a trophy that only a very select few footballers have gotten their hands on, and, when they do, it is not often that they hold it twice.

It is easily one of the most difficult pieces of silverware to win but, over the years, many an English side has gone and done just that.

Chelsea are the current holders, while Liverpool won it as recently as 2019. But who is the greatest English side in the history of the famous tournament? 

Well, thanks to the folks down at FourFourTwo, we can answer that exact question.

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They have ranked their top ten, based on the best single season performance since the competition took its current form in 1992.

10. Chelsea 2007/08

The Blues run to the showpiece event in Moscow would ultimately end in tears (cue pictures of John Terry in tears) but they came as close to winning, without actually winning it, as anyone could.

They conceded just one goal in the group stages, while also overcoming Liverpool in the semi-final.

9. Manchester United 2010/11

United were taken apart by one of the greatest club teams ever assembled in the Wembley final as a certain Lionel Messi ran riot in London.

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However, that doesn't change the fact that this was one of the greatest United sides ever as they conceded just four goals en route to the final.

8. Arsenal 2005/06

The fact that the great Arsenal side of the early 00's never won the Champions League will always be one of the greatest shames in football.

Knockout ties with Real Madrid, Juventus and Villareal were negotiated without a single goal conceded before that heartbreaking night in the Paris rain.

7. Manchester City 2020/21

Another runner-up side, Pep Guardiola's City romped into the final only to be stopped in their tracks by another team on this list, Chelsea.

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They won 11 out of their 12 outings in the tournament prior to the final with the 12th coming in the form of a draw.

6. Chelsea 2011/12

The first of the winners on the list, Chelsea overcame all the odds in 2012 to earn their spot in the pages of history.

They saw off Barcelona in one of the most dramatic semi-final clashes ever before beating the mighty Bayern Munich in their own backyard in the final.

5. Liverpool 2004/05

Had this Liverpool side beaten anyone else in the final, they would probably have been lower down the rankings.

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However, the fact that they beat one of the greatest AC Milan sides ever, after being 3-0 down at halftime, sees them claim the first spot in the top five.

4. Chelsea 2020/21

The current champions beat a juggernaut Manchester City after a Thomas Tuchel tactical masterclass in Porto.

Solid at the back and exciting going forward, the Blues are well deserving of fourth.

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3. Manchester United 1998/99

The treble winners in third.

Their run to that spectacular final was superb as they scored a whopping 20 goals in the group stages before tightening things up and getting the business done in the knock-outs.

2. Liverpool 2018/19

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After that harrowing night in Kyiv in 2018, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool only had one thing on their mind - winning.

Even when 3-0 down against a decent Barcelona side that mentality never wavered and, once they had made the final, the trophy was only ever Merseyside-bound.

1. Manchester United 2007/08

The champions of champions.

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While they were the width of a post away from losing the final in Moscow, there can be no denying that 2008 Manchester United were one of the greatest sides ever assembled.

From the from to the back they were world class, and worthy table-toppers hen it comes to this list.