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Sometimes there is no logic in football: the sides that are currently best in England have been knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage, Chelsea by the team that is third in the Premiership, Liverpool, 18 points behind top club Manchester United, and the latter by AC Milan, third in Série A, a massive 28 points behind top club and city rivals Inter.
AC Milan took a 2-3 deficit from the first leg at United to a rainy San Siro on Wednesday and proceeded to demolish the English side. From the word ‘go’ they were superior in every department, and in Gattuso, Seedorf and Kaká they had arguably the best players over the two legs. Kaká got one to add to his two at Old Trafford, assisted by Seedorf, which meant that United had to score two to win (because of Milan’s two away goals last week). When the Dutchman got one himself, United still needed two to win. But when Gilardino made it 3-0 in the second half, United needed two just to draw. And the fact is that United could still be playing in the San Siro as you read this and they would probably still not have scored, such was the poverty of their performance. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted as much afterwards: “In fairness, we didn't really look as if we were going to score.” Cristiano Ronaldo was a shadow of his normal self, Scholes was ineffectual, Rooney and Giggs apparently had their minds on something else, but in fact the whole team had an awful, badly-timed off-night.
Milan will play Liverpool on 23 May in Athens, a replay of the Final two years ago which Liverpool won on penalties after being 0-3 down at one point and pulling the score back. There are seven survivors of that game in Milan’s squad who will be desperate for revenge. But it will be difficult to predict a winner, if only because of what history tells us: Milan have won the trophy six times, Liverpool five.
Liverpool beat Chelsea over a very even two legs. They had lost the first one 0-1 at Stamford Bridge but were soon winning the second 1-0 with a goal by defender Daniel Agger from a move which they must have practised an awful lot at the training ground: a square free-kick by captain Steven Gerrard for Agger to hit it first time and in. It was a game of very little beauty, the English styles of the two teams (despite their having Spanish and Portuguese coaches and international players) cancelling each other out. So it was no real surprise when it went to extra time and then penalties, Dick Kuyt getting the winner, more than a satisfactory consolation for his earlier header that hit the bar and the goal he had disallowed for a disputed offside. Reina was Liverpool’s hero, though, with two penalty saves, Robben and Geremi Chelsea’s villains with two misses. They might be forgiven for being a little nervous, though, because when they stepped up to take their kicks, the wall of sound from the Anfield crowd was immense. In fact it was immense throughout the game, with the famous Kop producing a full repertoire of songs, including, of course, the club anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
However, if Pepe Reina was happy with the result, he was less so when he got home: his house had been burgled and his car stolen, later found burnt out. Apart from the defeat, there was misfortune on the Chelsea side, too: a wealthy fan and his son who had travelled north to the game by helicopter died on the way back when it crashed, also killing two others. The legendary former manager of Liverpool, the late Bill Shankly, once said: “Some people say football is a matter of life and death. They’re wrong: it’s more important than that.” No, Bill: this time death cast a shadow over what was, after all, only a game.
by Phil Town
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