The Hindu : Sport / Football : Liverpool does the incredible

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Friday, May 27, 2005

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Liverpool does the incredible

ISTANBUL: Liverpool overcame a three-goal halftime deficit to win its first European Cup title in 21 years, beating AC Milan 3-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the Champions League final.

Andriy Shevchenko, whose shootout spot kick clinched Milan's sixth title two years ago, failed this time, giving the English team the title in a match that started on Wednesday and finished in the early minutes of Thursday morning.

It was Liverpool's fifth title, meaning it will be able to keep the trophy for good. But it may not be enough to get the team into next year's competition — Liverpool finished in fifth place in the English Premier League, and only the top four gain berths for the next tournament.

Paolo Maldini, who was chasing his fifth title, gave Milan the lead in the 50th Champions Cup final after just 52 seconds and Hernan Crespo added two more goals before halftime.

Great comeback

But three goals in seven minutes by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso made it 3-3. The match then went to a shootout and Liverpool, which also won its last title on penalties in 1984, did it again.

``Three-0 down at halftime I thought I was going to be in tears at the final whistle,'' Gerrard said. Milan's Serginho and Andrea Pirlo both missed and Liverpool went ahead 2-0 through Dietmar Hamann and Djibril Cisse. Milan levelled when John Arne Riise missed and Jon Dahl Tomasson and Kaka scored for Milan, but Smicer made his shot and Shevchenko's spot kick was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

``We played a good match. We had six minutes of craziness,'' Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

Stunning saves

A few minutes before the shootout, the Polish 'keeper made two stunning saves to foil the Ukrainian at the end of extra time.

The noise level in the 75,000-capacity Ataturk Stadium was already deafening when Milan took an early lead.

Djimi Traore fouled Brazil midfielder Kaka to the right of the Liverpool area and Pirlo aimed the free kick close to the penalty spot. Maldini, who hadn't scored all season, volleyed past Dudek.

Shevchenko rolled the ball into the Liverpool net in the 28th minute from Kaka's pass but it was ruled out for offside. But a second goal came six minutes before halftime with Liverpool appealing for a penalty at the other end. The Liverpool players believed that Alessandro Nesta had handled the ball while lying on the turf.

Spanish referee Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez waved to play on, and Kaka sent Shevchenko clear down the right. The Ukraine striker looked up to see Crespo unmarked at the far post and his low cross gave the Argentine an easy tap in. With two minutes to go before the break, Crespo added the third.

Defiant fans

It appeared that Milan was running away with the 50th final but Liverpool's defiant fans began singing ``We're gonna win 4-3'' at halftime. The Reds then hit back with three goals in seven minutes to level at 3-3.

Gerrard scored the first with a glancing long-range header from Riise's cross, the England midfielder timing his run just right to jump and guide his header into the top corner.

Two minutes later, Smicer received a square ball from second-half substitute Hamann and fired a low shot across Dida and into the far corner. The third came after a missed penalty.

Liverpool carved open the Milan defence and Gennaro Gattuso was judged to have pulled down Gerrard.

Dida managed to block Alonso's penalty but the Spaniard followed up to score and make it 3-3 with 30 minutes to go. Shevchenko had a great chance to avoid the drama of penalties when Serginho's cross found him in front of the goal with two minutes remaining.

But Dudek managed to block his first shot and then recovered to push his follow up effort over the bar. — Agencies

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