Having failed to qualify for the Champions League group phase through their League positions – albeit Milan’s plight was due to Calciopoli – both sides were forced to fight their way through the third qualifying round. Liverpool had the tougher of the two draws against Israel’s Maccabi Haifa, but a 3-2 aggregate victory saw them through to Group C with PSV, Bordeaux and Galatasaray. Milan’s 3-1 aggregate win against Red Star put them into Group H with Lille, AEK Athens and Anderlecht.
Milan seemed to have one of the easier draws in the competition, but although they topped their group they did not make life simple for themselves. They lost at both Lille and AEK, but three wins and a draw was enough to secure their progress. Liverpool’s group also appeared straightforward, with only tough trips to Turkey and Holland to contend with. They got off to a slightly edgy start, but two convincing wins against PSV and Bordeaux saw them qualify at the top of Group C, losing only their meaningless last game against Galatasaray.
The Rossoneri were paired with Celtic for the first knockout round, once again confirming that Lady Luck was smiling on Carlo Ancelotti’s side this year. Yet their wastefulness in front of goal almost proved to be their undoing until Kaka’s brilliant extra time goal in the second leg finally broke the deadlock. Liverpool, on the other hand, were handed a testing encounter with the defending champions Barcelona. To the surprise of many, the Reds emerged from the Nou Camp with a 2-1 win. But, like the Rossoneri, they spurned many a chance to put the tie out of reach in the second leg. Eidur Gudjohnsen pulled the Spanish giants back into it, but they couldn’t find the second goal they needed, allowing Liverpool to progress on the away goals rule.
The quarter-finals proved to be one of the most enthralling rounds of the competition. Manchester United recovered from a first leg defeat to smash Roma 7-1 at Old Trafford, while Michael Essien gave Chelsea a semi-final place with an injury time winner in Valencia. But it was the two finalists who gave their best performances of the tournament to progress to the last four. Liverpool’s tie was a repeat of the group stage as they took on PSV. The Merseyside team came away from Eindhoven with a stunning 3-0 first-leg victory, before finishing the job at Anfield.
Milan had a tough draw against Bayern Munich, with the first leg showing the quality of the two sides. Milan thought they had got the winner when Kaka scored from the penalty spot late on, but in added time Daniel Van Buyten equalised for a second time to set up a thrilling clash in Munich. But Bayern did not perform as they had at the San Siro, with the Rossoneri putting in a vintage performance to grab a 2-0 win and a semi-final place.
The draw for the semi-finals brought about a number of inviting possibilities, as Milan were paired with Manchester United and Chelsea squared off with Liverpool. Could Andriy Shevchenko return to haunt Milan in the finale of a competition which had mixed results for him? Would the Rossoneri be handed a chance to make up for their 2005 heartbreak at the hands of the Merseyside outfit? Or would the Reds face-off against either of their great Premiership rivals? In the end, an Istanbul repeat proved to be the outcome.
Milan lost the first leg at Old Trafford, with a late Wayne Rooney goal edging it for United after Kaka had brilliantly handed his side the advantage. But the return leg saw Ancelotti’s side dominate from the start, running out comfortable 3-0 winners. Liverpool, meanwhile, also came back from a first leg deficit. Daniel Agger equalised early on in the return at Anfield, but after a 120-minute snoozefest it was down to penalties. The Reds, as they so often do, emerged victorious. Will that be the case again on Wednesday night?
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