Soccer - UEFA Champions League 2007 Final : AC Milan VS Liverpool FC

When the footballing season just started, no one expected AC Milan (engulfed in the match fixing scandal in their Domestic league) to reach this year’s final. In fact, they even had to appeal to be allowed back to play in the Champions League.



Milan and Liverpool's players posing for pictures

So will the dramatic episodes faced by Milan this season spur them on to win the coveted trophy? They also have the small matter of revenge in their minds, as they look to avenge the cruel defeat under the hands of their opponents today, two years ago in Istanbul in the same competition.




Pool Spirit

With all the talk about Milan pre match, it was Liverpool who took the initiative and looked more like scoring. They pressed well, with five man in midfield, stifling any creativity from Milan’s key players (Pirlo, Kaka and Seedorf in particularly).


Pennant had a lot of the ball and troubled the aging, yet influential Maldini several times. However, most of his crosses were either wayward and when it did arrived at one of his teammate’s feet, Dirk Kuyt, the result was a volley high over the bar.


Pennant himself forced a nice save from Dida who had to parry the ball into the danger zone, but there was no Liverpool players following up and Nesta managed to clear.


Pennant’s freedom to roam on the right was aided by Milan’s tactics of pushing their fullbacks - Massimo Oddo and Marek Jankulovski forward whenever they can. But every cross they put in was either headed out by the irrepressible Jamie Carragher or caught comfortably by Pepe Reina.


Xabi Alonso and John Arne Riise flashed their shots wide of Dida’s goalpost and that summed up Liverpool’s first half – Chances, but most of them off target and most importantly, no goals to prove their dominance. And in football, goals count, not the number of chances. The cliché “All you need is a second to score a goal” comes right into mind.


So when the ultimate goal poacher Filippo Inzaghi inadvertedly deflected Andrea Pirlo’s freekick into the net right on the stroke of halftime, it was against the run of play. But similarly, somehow you can sense this coming.

Halftime Score: AC Milan 1 : 0 Liverpool FC



Milan experience

As the second half progress, Liverpool similarly had more possession Milan banked on counterattacks because Liverpool had to push men forward in search of a equalizer. Inzaghi was left alone upfront, solely supported by Kaka, with Seedorf slightly behind.


The ever energetic Steven Gerrard tried to lead by example, and in the 61st min nearly did so but after getting pass Nesta, let out a poor shot , albeit at his weaker side, saved comfortably by Dida.


With Liverpool unable to find a goal, after trying all the strength they could muster, Inzaghi dealt a final blow to their title hopes. Kaka ,quiet by his standards throughout the match, made a brilliant through pass to Inzaghi. He broke the offside trap (He doesn’t bother anyway), touched the ball past the onrushing Reina and slide the ball past his body into the net.

The deafening silence around the Liverpool contingent said it all. But could their side make a fantastic comeback once again to break Milan’s heart? Dirk Kuyt’s close range header certainly made Milan’s fans fear the worst again. But it was not to be this time as Milan lifted the trophy for a Seventh time in Athens.


There was a moment of controversy in the final whistle, as Rafael Benitez (Liverpool’s manager) argued furiously at the officials for not giving the full 3 minutes of added time as indicated. The timer read 2:43 at my telly…

Final Score: AC Milan 2 : 1 Liverpool FC