Liverpool: Champions League Final 2005 - Liverpool beat Milan on penalties!

AC Milan are without midfielder Massimo Ambrosini, who has a thigh injury but are otherwise at full strength for Wednesday's Champions League final. Strikers Hernan Crespo and Filippo Inzaghi are vying for a starting place in the Milan front line. Long-term absentee Chris Kirkland is the only player missing for Liverpool. Milan Baros is set to start at the expense of Djibril Cisse, while Dietmar Hamann is likely to win a place in midfield at the expense of Igor Biscan.



Liverpool fans who travelled to Istanbul for Wednesday's Champions League final against AC Milan are managing to pick up tickets on the black market - though at a steep price. Turks who were selling them were asking 1,000 euro (688) a pair, supporters said. But fans were sometimes able to negotiate them down. With the clocking ticking down to kick-off, Liverpool fans filled a number of bars in the central area and belted out their favourite anthems, while locals gathered to watch, seeming amused at the spectacle, and police strolled around on floats or cruised by in cars.

On paper, all signs point a Milan win. They have the quality that would make them worthy European champions and their form ensures they will start as favourites. But, Liverpool may feel this is going to be their year again, after previous European Cup triumphs in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984, but they are going to need more than just fate on their side if they are to do a high five and lift the cup. Liverpool's problem is they have been painfully inconsistent. The likes of Gerrard and Carragher rarely let the side down but others have been found wanting at times. They have struggled to find reliable performers in all areas of the field and they lack the class of Milan.









[Edited on 25/5/05 by TRD]

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Head-to-head


AC Milan and Liverpool have never previously met in European competition.

AC Milan have played 22 matches against English clubs, winning eight, drawing seven and losing seven.

One of these was an European final - Milan beating Leeds United 1-0 in the 1973 Cup Winners' Cup final.

Liverpool have played 14 matches against Italian clubs, winning five, drawing three and losing six.

Two of these matches were Champions Cup finals. The first was in 1984 when Liverpool drew 1-1 against AS Roma in Roma's own stadium and won the trophy 4-2 on penalties.

The second was a year later against Juventus with the Turin based team winning 1-0 through a Michel Platini penalty.





European history- AC Milan


AC Milan have won six Champions Cup/Champions League trophies (1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003).

Milan have also won two Cup Winners' Cups (1968, 1973), four Uefa Super Cups (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003) and three Intercontinental Cups (1969, 1989, 1990).

AC Milan are going for their third Champions League title which would equal Real Madrid's record of three.

AC Milan won the trophy in 1994 and 2003. Other than Real and Milan, no other team has won it more than once.

AC Milan have also lost two Champions League finals, both by 1-0 margins, to Olympique Marseille in 1993 and Ajax in 1995.

AC Milan have been eliminated from European competition by an English club on three occasions with the last happening in the 1978/1979 season.

In 1965/1966, Chelsea knocked AC Milan out of the Fairs Cup at the last 16 stage.
Tottenham Hotspur beat Milan on aggregate in the 1971/1972 Uefa Cup semi-final.

Manchester City were the victors against AC Milan in the quarter-final of the 1978/1979 Uefa Cup.


European history- Liverpool


Liverpool have won four Champions Cups (in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984). The Reds also won three Uefa Cups (1973, 1976, 2001) and two European Super Cups (1977, 2001)

However, reaching this season's Champions League final is Liverpool's best ever performance in the Champions League.

This season marks Liverpool's third CL participation. They previously reached the 2001/2002 quarter-finals and were knocked out at the first group stage a season later.

Liverpool's last appearance in the final of a European competition was in the 2000/2001 Uefa Cup season when they beat Alaves 5-4 in sudden death extra time after the match had ended in a 4-4 draw after 90 minutes.

The last time Liverpool reached a Champions Cup/Champions League final was 20 years ago when they lost 1-0 to Juventus in a final marred by crowd violence in which 39 people were killed.

Liverpool's very first European campaign was ended by an Italian club with Internazionale beating them in the semi-final of the 1964/1965 Champions Cup.

Since then, Italian clubs have ended Liverpool's participation on just two more occasions.

Juventus beat Liverpool in the 1984/1985 Champions Cup final and Genoa knocked Liverpool out in their next European participation - the 1991/1992 Uefa Cup - at the quarter-final stage.

Miscellaneous facts


AC Milan trainer Carlo Ancelotti is one of only four people to have won the Champions Cup/Champions League as both player and trainer. He won the 1989 and 1990 competitions as a player and won as a trainer in 2003.

The other people to have achieved this are Miguel Munoz, Giovanni Trapattoni and Johan Cruijff. Only Munoz won more than once as both a player and trainer.

Ancelotti can become the 15th trainer to win the Champions Cup/Champions League more than once.

The last person to achieve this was Vicente del Bosque, who won it 2000 and 2002 as trainer of Real Madrid.

Currently, Liverpool do not have a place in next season's Champions League if they win the trophy. The FA have decided to give the fourth place to Everton.

Liverpool finished the Premiership season three points behind Everton in fifth position.

Liverpool trainer Rafael Benitez is aiming to become the 14th trainer to win a European trophy in successive seasons. Former Liverpool trainer Bob Paisley is the record holder winning the Uefa Cup in 1976 and the Champions Cup in 1977 and 1978.

As last season's triumph for Benitez was with Valencia, he will be the first to achieve this with different clubs.

Two trainers have won the Uefa Cup and followed it up with the Champions Cup/Champions League the following season.

Bob Paisley in 1976 and 1977 was the first and last season, then FC Porto trainer José Mourinho became the second person to do it.

Liverpool will probably start the final with just two domestic players, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard. This will be the lowest ever total of domestic players starting an Champions Cup/Champions League final.

Liverpool will play the final in red against a team in white. On each of the four occasions that they won the Champions Cup, they played in red against a team playing in white.

AC Milan will play in white. They have won two of their three Champions League finals playing in white. They won in 1994 and 2003 but they also played in white in 1995 when they lost 1-0 to Ajax.

AC Milan will finish second in this season's Serie A. Their 3-3 draw at home to Palermo on Friday, 20 May handed the championship to Juventus.

Liverpool finished fifth in this season's Premiership. They also reached the Carling Cup final, losing 3-2 to Chelsea.

Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi believes that his side will have too much class for Liverpool. The Italian giants face Rafa Benitez's Reds in Istanbul on Wednesday as firm favourites to lift the trophy for a seventh time. Berlusconi says that Liverpool have been tactically astute to make their way to the final, but says Milan will have too much class for the Merseysiders.

Skysports.com

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is confident his side can overcome Milan in the UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday. The two European giants meet for the first time in Wednesday's final in Istanbul, hoping to win Europe's premier competition. Benitez revealed the squad is looking forward to the clash and he is confident they can surprise favourites Milan.

Skysports.com

Hernan Crespo's participation in Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final has been thrown into real doubt after the player limped out of training. The Milan striker, on a season's loan from Chelsea, has been struggling with a hamstring injury but had been thought to be fit to play. Rossoneri chief Carlo Ancelotti had gone as far as to say Crespo would definitely start in Istanbul but his selection now appears to be in major jeopardy.

Skysports.co m

2-1 Milan.

no way!!! at work today, talking about the game thats what i said, the score i mean.

i think milan will miss crespo, i thought if he played he would score cos crespo is doing well against the english clubs in the champions league this season.

cos hes out, i think milan will score via their midfield players. i thinking kaka.

and i think liverpool will score with a corner hitting a head of one of their defenders.

looking forward to the game though

Its going to be a tough game for Liverpool and even at their best they might not be good enough, but you never know. I would like to see them win...

Realistically it should be 2-1 or 3-1 to Milan, but i would like to see a 2-1 to Liverpool..

i should be playing defense for liverpool

What a game, Liverpool were losing 3-0 at half-time, but the second half they have come alive! 2 goals in 2 minutes from Gerrard and Smicer.

Penalty Liverpool

Gerrard got brought down in the box!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Goal.... Alonso 3-3

OMG the keeper saved it but he scored on the rebound, what a comeback by Liverpool!!!

i'm actually able to watch the game on tv here, even missing a baseball game for it, an amazing comeback by liverpool no matter how the game turns out, they looked like they had a late night in the first half but are on fire in the second....they need nfl style cheerleaders

Hey cool toejam, what a game to pick to watch. Its the biggest cup in the football calendar to win. At the moment it could go either way, but Liverpool are just looking that bit stronger.

i think that they were saving their strength during the first half and just letting milan think that they were running all over them, had this in mind all game long...LOL

Hehe yeah, well still 15 mins to go untill full time, so plenty of time for someone to score. Milan just starting to get back in the game, but if Liverpool score now it could finish them off..

they either changed jerseys at half time or that field is running steeply downhill at that one end, all the action all game long has been at the one end of the field

Haha, yeah i know what you mean.

Liverpool are looking pretty good in defence and concentrating alot more. They need to string some passes together and attack the Milan box. About 8 mins to go and i bet the Milans defence are feeling tired as they are quite old, i think Nesta is the youngest at 29.

They are just bringing on Cisse (Liverpool) he is a class player but got badly injured, he is real quick and could be a real danger..

i know that there used to be limits on substitutes and that if you were taken out of the game you couldn't come back on, have they changed the rules on that?

Newp, only 3 substitues allowed and they can't come back on...


3 mins of time added on, if its still 3-3 then it goes into extra time...