What happened the last time the Chiefs and 49ers played in the Super Bowl?

After two hard-fought Conference Championship games, we now know the identities of the two teams battling it out at Super Bowl LVIII.

The Kansas City Chiefs proved too strong for the Baltimore Ravensin the AFC Conference final. In the West the Detroit Lions, the big surprise of this year’s playoffs, were overcome by a superb fightback from the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs return to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five seasons, a historic run for the Patrick Mahomes-led team. That run began in 2020 when Kansas City clinched Super Bowl LIV against this Sunday’s opponents, the San Francisco 49ers.

Chiefs and 49ers set for Super Bowl rematch

How time flies. In February 2020, when these two sides last met at a Super Bowl, Kansas City were looking to finally end their 50-year wait for the national title.

The Chiefs had won the AFC West division title in 2019 for a fourth successive season and looked well placed to go deep in the playoffs. They took on a 49ers side that were top seed in NFC, but were coming off the back of a spell of poor seasons.

The game was played in front of 62,000 supporters at Hard Rock Stadium and it got off to a tense start. Super Bowl LIV was tied at ten points apiece at halftime, with the 49ers taking control in the third quarter.

KC fell to 20-10 behind and it looked for all the world as if their championship wait would be stretching into a sixth decade. That was before Mahomes took control in the final stages and helped his side to 21 straight points in the final 6:13 of a pulsating match.

The Chiefs streaked to a 31-20 victory with Mahomes named Super Bowl MVP. He threw 44 yards to Tyreek Hill and 38 to Sammy Watkins.

“We never lost faith,” Mahomes said in the postmatch. “That’s the biggest thing. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down. We believed in each other. That’s what we preached all year long.”

Which players are still there for the rematch?

Rivalries are everything in sport. Often it’s to do with geography, but sometimes it’s all about a shared history between the two teams.

In the previous 57 Super Bowls, there have been just eight rematches. Rarer still is a rematch within five years of the original fixture, something that has happened just three times previously.

The upcoming Chiefs - 49ers clash will be the fourth such occasion, coming just four years after the 2020 meeting. As such, there are a number of old foes ready to resume hostilities. There are eight players on each team that were involved in Super Bowl LIV.

For the 49ers Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Arik Armstead, Kyle Juszczyk and Mitch Wishnowsky are all out for revenge.

The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, Harrison Butker, Mecole Hardman, James Winchester, Nick Allegretti and Blake Bell looking for a repeat performance.

“It’s perfect,” 49ers defensive end Bosa said of the rematch. “They’re as great an organization, coach, quarterback as there is. And they were down, not looking great this year either, and they’re playing they’re best ball now. So it’s going to be a big challenge.”