Liverpool’s Comeback Is One for the Ages
Mounting one of the greatest comebacks in soccer history, Liverpool won Europe’s club championship for the first time since 1984.
Liverpool became the first team to overcome a three-goal deficit in the Champions Cup final, beating AC Milan, 3-2, on penalty kicks after a 3-3 tie Wednesday night.
“I don’t think anyone has seen a game like that. I cannot believe we’ve just won,” Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said.
Liverpool, which finished fifth this season in England’s Premier League, won the title for the fifth time, scoring three goals during a seven-minute stretch early in the second half. En route to the Champions League title, Liverpool eliminated Italian and Premier League champions Juventus and Chelsea.
“We were massive underdogs at the beginning of the competition,” Liverpool captain Steve Gerrard said. “I didn’t think we were going to go all the way.”
In the finale of the 50th Champions Cup, the teams combined for the most goals in a final since Benfica defeated Real Madrid, 5-3, in 1962.
AC Milan’s Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko were stopped by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek during penalty kicks after Serginho also missed.
“Our three best penalty kickers were the ones who missed,” AC Milan Coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “It was a very strange game. I thought we deserved to win.”
AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini got the first goal only 52 seconds in, at 36 becoming the oldest player to score in a final. Hernan Crespo scored goals in the 39th and 43rd for a 3-0 lead.
Gerrard started the comeback with a goal on a header in the 54th minute off a cross from John Arne Riise.
“There were a few heads down at halftime. The manager made a few changes and put some belief in the players,” Gerrard said.
Vladimir Smicer made it 3-2 with a low shot in the 56th, and Xabi Alonso tied it in the 60th on the rebound of his penalty kick, which goalkeeper Dida had sprawled to save.
The game went to 30 minutes of overtime, and Dudek stopped Shevchenko twice in the 118th minute, first saving his header, then blocking Shevchenko’s shot off the rebound.
