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Champions League
Milan 3, Liverpool 3
Final, 2005, Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul
Heroes: Steven Gerrard, Jerzy Dudek
Was this the greatest comeback in Champions League history or the
biggest capitulation o all time? For sure, it was Harry Kewells lowest
moment, limping rom the pitch ater 23 minutes with his muscle torn rom
the bone, and disgraceully booed by Liverpool ans. It was denitely Raael
Benitezs greatest triumph, returning Liverpool to its mythical heights
(or 120 minutes, at least). The rst-hal saw Liverpool totally shredded
as Hernan Crespo scored two o Milans three goals. Liverpool aced
humiliation but showed never-say-die desperation i
dramatic six-minute spell, Steven Gerrard headed a
belie. Vladimir Smicer, in his nal game or the Red
set up Liverpool as the only team likely to score aga
Alonso getting the rebound rom a saved penalty, w
the match was progressing. Milan, apparently with t
world, were overwhelmed, and as the game went to
ater a spectacular late-game double-save rom Je
condence proved too much or the battered Itali an
ask themselves, how did that happen? They are not a
They had incredible ans, said Paolo Maldini. See. Y
Euro
Flash
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Manchester United 2, Bayern Munich 1
Final, 1999, Camp Nou, Barcelona
Heroes: Teddy Sheringham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Five minutes gone and Mario Baslers ree kick put Bayern Munich ahead
early. Veryearly. United keeper Peter Schmeichel shouted (was he ever happy?)
at his deence in an attempt to awaken them but United seemed to be late risers
and 1-0 was how the score seemed destined stay. United seemed out o ideas
but Alex Ferguson rolled his dice throwing on Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer to partner Dwight Yorke in attack. The clock ticked down . . . and down.
But with 30 seconds o added time let in the match, a misplaced shot by Ryan
Giggs ell to veteran Sheringham, who ound the net. Grown men rom north-west
England hugged and kissed. With Bayerns best players exhausted, United
surged orward. Solskjaer won a corner, Sheringham won the header,
Solskjaer hit the net to write himsel into United olklore and many terrace
songs. Bayerns Sammy Kuour wept on his hands and knees and
so too did millions o Bavarians. Football, bloody hell, chirped
Ferguson, European champion.
2Th
e 10 greatestChampionsLeague battles
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Barcelona 0, Milan 4
Final, 1994, Olympic Stadium, Athens
Heroes: Dejan Savicevic
Milan were expected to be blown away by a classic Barcelona side coached
by Johan Cruy that starred Romario, Ronald Koeman, Jose Bakero and
Pep Guardiola. Milan, meanwhile, were missing Marco Van Basten, Gianluigi
Lentini, Franco Baresi, Allesandro Costacurta, Jean-Pierre Papin and Michael
Laudrup. May as well have stayed at home, boys. Except, o course, when
the Champions League is up or grabs. Fabio Capellos Milan, playing in all
white, didnt seem to care about the absentees. Daniele Massaro gave Milan a
lead but it was Dejan Savicevics extraordinary long-range chip ater a slip by
Miguel Nadal (Raaels uncle) that eectively sealed the win. Marcel Desailly,
running rom deence to attack, added a ourth to complete Barcelonas
destruction and sum up Milans total domination.
Juventus 2, Manchester United 3
Semi-fnal, second leg, 1999, Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin
Heroes: Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole
United had never beaten an Italian side in a European tie over two matches.
History seemed likely to repeat with Juventus 2-0 up ater 11 minutes in Turin in
this classic semi-nal. Uniteds hopes o making a European nal looked dead or
another year. Filippo Inzaghis early double meant that, under the away goals rule,
United needed to score twice to stay alive. Roy Keane stepped up in the 24th minute
with a header and United dramatically drew level 10 minutes later with a Dwight
Yorke header. Keanes mideld battle with Zinedine Zidane (Juventus also had Didier
Deschamps and Edgar Davids in the middle) became a turning point or the match
the Irishman copped a yellow card or a oul on the Frenchman that eventually ruled
him out o the nal. Needing to score, Carlo Ancelottis Juve turned the screw in the
second-hal but it was the deadly counter-attacking combo o Yorke and Andy Cole,
rampant in the Premier League that season, which nally gave United the le ad.
Yorke was brought down by Angelo Peruzzi in the middle o a solo run to goal,
but the reeree played advantage, allowing Cole to tap into an empty net.
Uniteds chase or the Treble was still a possibility.
4
3Manchester United 4, Real Madrid 3
Quarter-fnal, second leg, 2003, Old Traord, Manchester
Heroes: Ronaldo, David Beckham
Regarded as one o the most remarkable matches in Champions League history,
this quarter-nal had drama, action and skill aplenty. Needing to score early to close
the gap rom the rst leg, United pressed hard but were cut open on the break when
Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) red inside Fabien Barthezs inside post to silence the home
crowd. Ruud van Nistelrooy responded just beore hal time ollowing some determined
work rom Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to keep the Red Devils in with a chance. But the attacking
class o Madrid came to the ore ater the break, and when Luis Figos shot came back o
the crossbar, the deending champions held possession and worked United all around the
box beore setting Ronaldo up to tap in his se cond. United stayed in the match ater
Ivan Helguera turned Juan Sebastin Verons shot into his own net, but it was Ronaldo
who grabbed the headlines when he drove home rom 25 yards to round o his
hat-trick and put the tie beyond Uniteds reach. An out-o-avour David Beckham
made a statement to his manager when he came o the bench to slot a trademark
reekick. He slid in or a second late on to give United the lead in the match, though
they trailed the tie 6-5 on agg regate. And thats how it nished a truly epic
matched awash with sparkling attacking ootball. Ronaldo received a
standing ovation rom the home ans.
5
Deportivo La Coru
Quarter-fnal, frst leg, 2
Heroes: Albert Luque
Ater AC Milan dominated the rst leg a
taking a 4-1 lead to the Riazor this wa
second-leg ght backs. The humble Sp
world when they blew away mighty Mila
opening 43 minutes. Ater Milan squand
chances, the opener came when Walte
the edge o the box and red low into th
was a git, with keeper Dida horribly mi
cross, allowing Juan Carlos Valeron to
net. The Milan deence boasting the li
and Maldini was a shambles, and Luq
minutes beore hal-time, stealing the b
into the roo o the net to put D epor ahe
rule. The icing on the cake came on 75
Gonzalez Frans defected shot ound th
securing an unlikely semi-nal spot or
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Chelsea 4, Barcelona 2
Round o 16, second leg, 2005, Stamord Bridge, London
Heroes: John Terry, Petr Cech
Star-studded Barcelona shaded Chelsea 2-1 at Camp Nou in the rst leg.
Needing a strong start at Stamord Bridge, Chelsea ans g ot a whole lot more than
they were hoping or as their team shot to a 3 -0 lead inside 20 minutes. The rst
came o a lightning break rom the middle o the park, with Icelandic ace Eidur
Gudjohnsen skillully turning in the box beore nishing o the move emphatically.
Soon ater Joe Cole cut in rom the right and his defected shot orced a ne save rom
Victor Valdes, who could only watch helplessly as Frank Lampard smashed home the loose
ball. Two minutes later Damien Du latched on to Coles pass and slid his shot home to send
the crowd into raptures. Throughout, Chelsea manager Jose Mourniho remained almost
eerily calm maybe because he knew that a three-goal lead over Barca doesnt always
guarantee victory. The Catalans kept their ocus and eventually earned a penalty which
Ronaldinho calmly slotted. But it was in the 38th minute that the Brazilian showed his
true class, shimmying away rom a tackle and guiding in a gloriously placed shot rom
20 yards which surprised everyone. The remainder o the match ebbed and fowed
with both teams searching or the vital goal to send them through. Barcelona had
their chances (with Petr Cech pulling o some world clas s saves) but it was
Chelsea captain John Terry who stood up, heading home the decider in the
75th minute, prompting Mourinho to claim that he enjoyed this game more
than his victorious Champions League nal with Porto the previous year.
7
Chelsea 4, Liverpool 4
Quarter-fnal, second leg, 2009, Stamord Bridge, London
Hero: Frank Lampard
Coached by the mercurial Guus Hiddink, Chelseas aim to win their rst
ever Champions League title was nearly shut down early in this remarkable
quarter-nal tie. With skippers John Terry and Steven Gerrard unavailable,
composure and control were never really present in a game where every
moment o brilliant skill seemed to be matched by a disastrous mistake.
Trailing 3-1 ater the rst leg, Liverpool leveled the tie inside hal an hour;
Fabio Aurelios ree kick embarrassing Petr Cech at his near post beore
Xabi Alonso expertly slotted a spot kick. A blasting rom Hiddink in the
sheds at hal-time saw Chelsea come out ring ater the break, with a
poachers goal rom Didier Drogba, a stunning driven ree-kick rom Alex
and a calm nish rom Frank Lampard giving the Londoners the lead in
the tie. Reusing to die (even though manager Raa Benitez had seemingly
thrown in the towel by withdrawing star striker Fernando Torres) Liverpool
ought back with two goals in two minutes, setting up a thrilling nale.
It all proved too much though, as Lampard levelled up an astonishing
game in the 89th minute, sending Chelsea through 7-5 on aggregate.
8
Manchester United 1, Porto 1
Round o 16, second leg, 2004, Old Traord, Manchester
Heroes: Benni McCarthy, Costinha
Not the greatest o games in theory, and one to argue about or sure,
but this game is legendary or its turning point in history and consequences.
Had United won this match, we may never have heard too much more about
Portos coach, Jose Mourinho. Instead, everything is now special. With
one minute to go, and 1-0 up and cruising into the next round, Phil Neville
gave away a oolish ree kick close to Uniteds penalty area. Goalkeeper Tim
Howard could only parry Benni McCarthys brilliant ree-kick to allow Porto
striker Costinha to equalise and eliminate Manchester United on aggregate.
Cue Mourinhos now-amous trench coat sideline sprint into the history books.
Porto won the trophy that year, Mourinho was snapped up by big-spending
Chelsea (taking Ricardo Carvalho with him) while Neville and Howard
were soon on their way out o Old Traord.
10
Monaco 3, Real Madrid 1
Quarter-fnal, second leg, 2004, S
Heroes: Ludovic Giuly, Fernando
Nobody saw this result coming. Ater a 4-2 victo
the rst leg, Real Madrid arrived in France with a
bar David Beckham. When Raul put his team ah
strike it seemed the tournaments most celebra
making yet another semi-nals appearance. Do
Ludovic Giuly volleyed home just beore hal tim
glimmer o hope. Just minutes ater the break F
(on loan rom Real Madrid ater alling out o av
champions) got one over the club that spurned
home to give Monaco the lead. The atmosphere
stadium reached ever-pitch as the home team
the all important third. It came on 66 minutes in
fick rom Giuly through the legs o Roberto Carl
crowd into raptures. The nal 20 minutes was r
squandering chances. Madrid couldnt nd a re
ended 5-5 with Monaco going through on away
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