charles
Graham Fisher
Andrew Aigner-Muehler
LukeS
HardyUEFA Champions League Final: AC Milan 2 - 1 Liverpool
May 24th 2007 04:58
UEFA Champions League: Final
RESULT:
AC Milan 2 - 1 Liverpool
SUMMARY:
*Courtesy of BBC Sport
AC Milan revenged their defeat in the epic 2005 Champions League final by downing Liverpool 2-1 in their 'rematch' in Athens over-night.
A brace from veteran Filippo Inzaghi which included a fortuitous 1st goal against the run of play at the very end of the first half won the game for Milan.
Liverpool started the game brightly and in doing so, went against all expectations that the Reds would sit back and soak up the pressure for the first 20 minutes. Jermaine Pennant arguably produced his best performance in a Red shirt with his direct running causing all sorts of problems on the Milan left flank.
However, Gerrard and Pennant both wasted good opportunities to put the Reds ahead and the team duly paid for their profligacy in front of goal when Milan seized the lead just before half-time.
Alonso gave away a needless foul just outside the penalty and dead-ball expert Andrea Pirlo floated in a delicate
Sure, this was better than heading into the break with a 3-nil deficit like last time, but for all of Liverpool's dominance, they had nothing to show for it.
After the restart, the tempo of the match died down with Milan comfortable knowing they had a small cushion on their side. Liverpool continued to press but nothing eventuated so Benitez withdrew the ineffective Zenden for the attacking prowess of Aussie Harry Kewell.
Soon after, Gerrard had Liverpool's best chance on 62 minutes when he was sent clear by a dreadful pass by Rino Gattuso, but his finish was weak and Dida saved.
Two years ago, Liverpool had already restored parity with three goals in six second-half minutes and time was slowly running out for the Reds. Benitez had to take a gamble and put on England striker Peter Crouch (who was a surprising non-starter) in the place of the effective Mascherano who has to be given credit for the way he snuffled out Kaka, Milan's greatest attacking threat.
Liverpool continued to push forward in search of the equaliser but the withdrawal of Mascherano gave extra space for Kaka to exploit the Reds' defence and he delivered the killer pass for Inzaghi to score his second goal of the night.
Crouch then tested Dida with a 25-yard drive as Liverpool tried to mount an unlikely recovery that despite Dirk Kuyt's 89th goal, never eventuated.
Can I just say that Rafa, for once, got his tactics completely wrong in deploying Gerrard so far up the pitch. Gerrard is a wonderful footballer and is equally devastating in the centre or the right side of midfield, but he is NOT a forward.
Why he chose to leave the height that Peter Crouch provides is beyond me. Many a time, Kuyt was forced to hold the ball upfront (a job Crouch is better at) and at other times, Gerrard was playing even further up the pitch than the supposed 'lone striker'!
If only Alonso was as good a tackler as he is a passer of the ball, that needless foul just before half-time would not have eventuated. In fact, Alonso should have been on the bench with Gerrard in his position with Crouch and Kuyt upfront instead.
This would have meant that Robbie Fowler was on the bench instead of sitting forlornly in the stands on his last night as a Liverpool player. Mind you, he would have been a great cameo player to have when we needed someone to poach a goal so badly.
But credit to the Liverpool players for really taking the game to Milan - the same side that mauled the Premiership champions Manchester United in the semi-finals.
The Mighty Reds may have lost, but they can surely walk away with their heads held high.
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