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 shot ball which deflected off the shoulder of Pippo Inzaghi and past the wrong-footed Pepe Reina.
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.
Three Two and three-quarter minutes later (the ref obviously decided to give the lads an early shower), Milan celebrated their seventh triumph in Europe.
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.
19:45 UK - Olympic Stadium, Athens
AC Milan vs. Liverpool
PREVIEW:
In a rematch of the epic 2005 final, Italian giants AC Milan will be up against five-time European champions Liverpool in the final of the 2007 UEFA Champions League.
Both teams boast an amazing european pedigree and between them, have a combined total of 11 European Cup/Champions League trophies.
AC Milan and Liverpool's only previous meeting in European competition was the epic Champions League final of 2005, which ended in a 3-3 draw. The Mighty Reds had recovered from a 3-0 half-time deficit, and eventually won 3-2 on penalties.
According to the latest reports, both teams have a clean bill of health - Milan captain Paolo Maldini appears to have recovered from a knee injury while Boudewijn Zenden has also recovered from the injury setback he sustained in training.
The manager of both sides have confirmed they have settled on their starting eleven and will only release their team sheets closer to kick-off.
Robbie Fowler will be looking to leave his beloved club with a winner's medal - the Anfield legend will be leaving the club after this game. While it appears unlikely he will have a starting role, he could very well feature in the match at a later stage, particularly if the match heads to penalties.
So, will AC Milan exact revenge for their humiliating loss in the 2005 final? Or will the Mighty Reds emerge triumphant once again?
Live coverage on SBS starts at 4:15 AEST. Kick-off at 4:45am.
Five-time European champions Liverpool and Italian giants AC Milan booked their places in the last four of the Champion's League with wins over PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Munich respectively.
Liverpool's place in the semi-finals was never under threat courtesy of the 3-nil cushion carried from the 1st leg, but England striker Peter Crouch made sure of the Reds' progression by scoring the only goal of the game in the 67th minute.
The goal was setup by Robbie Fowler AKA "God" with an exquisite swivel and pass into the box after the Anfield hero had come on as a sub in the 17th minute due to an injury to Craig Bellamy.
Although manager Rafa Benitez had stressed to his troops before the game to remain focussed, the boss had enough confidence in his team to leave influential duo Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher on the bench.
Without the talismanic captain on the pitch, the Reds lacked drive despite never having to step up a gear throughout the match.
Liverpool now faces Chelsea again in a re-run of the semi-final of 2005 in which the Reds went onto win the famous trophy.
England can now guarantee at least one of its clubs from the Premier League will reach the final in Athens.
Italian giants AC Milan defeated Bayern Munich in the other quarter-final tie to book a berth in the semi-finals against Manchester United.
Milan scored twice in four minutes from Filippo Inzaghi and Clarence Seedorf to win the game (4-2 on aggregate).
While I had correctly predicted the Milan - Bayern Munich game would end in a draw and Liverpool would score a vital away win against PSV Eindhoven, I well and truly underestimated the brilliance of the mighty Reds in Europe.
With the Kop fans still rejoicing over their team's 4 - 1 win against Arsenal over the weekend, the Reds carried on from where they left off with a restounding 3 - 0 win over PSV at the Philps Stadion over-night.
Talismanic captain Steven Gerrard got the ball rolling when he opened the scoring in the 27th minute from a Steve Finnan cross - his 15th Champion's League goal, a new club record, overtaking Kop legend Ian Rush's previous mark of 14 goals.
After the break, Liverpool moved in for the kill with John Arn Riise scoring an absolute screamer of a goal from 30 yards out after capitalising on a poor PSV defensive clearance.
With the Reds in total control of the game, hat-trick hero Peter Crouch continued his rich vein of form by heading in the third goal of the match from another Steve Finnan cross.
With three vital away goals, the mighty Reds well and truly have one foot in the semi-finals of the Champion's League for the second time in three seasons.
Meanwhile Bayern Munich's last-gasp equaliser puts them in the driving seat for the return leg of their quarter-final tie against Milan.
Trailing 1 - 2 to Andrea Pirlo's header and Brazilian Kaka's penalty, Daniel van Buyten scored his second goal of the evening with the last kick of the game to equalise for the German giants.
The Quarter finals of the Champion's League kick-starts the business end of Europe's premier club competition with Italian giants AC Milan taking on Germany's Bayern Munich at the San Siro while PSV Eindhoven entertain five-time European champions Liverpool in Holland.
AC Milan welcomes back captain Paolo Maldini for the clash while defender Alessandro Nesta should also make a come-back at some stage during the match.
Former World Player of the Year Ronaldo is cup-tied and will most likely be replaced by Albert Gilardino.
Bayern Munich will be without skipper Oliver Kahn (suspended) and Mark van Bommel (injured).
PSV Eindhoven has several injured players for this match: Alex, Kone and Afellay.
Apart from Craig Bellamy, Liverpool has litte injury worries although midfielder Mohamed Sissoko is suspended for the first leg.
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