Which club did Real Madrid defeat in the 1956 European Cup final?

Real Madrid defeated Stade de Reims 4–3 in the 1956 European Cup final.

The inaugural European Cup final was played at Paris’s Parc des Princes on 13 June 1956. Reims raced into a 2–0 lead through Michel Leblond and Jean Templin, but Alfredo Di Stéfano and Héctor Rial restored parity before half-time.

Michel Hidalgo put Reims ahead again in the second half. Real Madrid then turned the match around: Marquitos equalised in the 67th minute, and Rial scored his second goal in the 79th minute to complete the 4–3 victory.

The result made Real Madrid the first European Cup champions and began an extraordinary run of five consecutive titles from 1956 through 1960. Reims had reached the final after defeating Hibernian in the semi-final. The club is often shortened to “Reims,” but Stade de Reims is the canonical club name used in the question.