Miracle of Istanbul

No one remembers the stunning team A.C. Milan had neither their amazing first-half performance with goals in the 1st minute from the captain Paolo Maldini, 2-0 by Crespo in the 38th min and again him in the 44th min to finish the first half 3-0.

The men coached by the Spaniard Rafael Benitez had 45 minutes to change destiny. Legend says Benitez tactic change giving Gerrard more freedom to build the attack whilst Hamann would control the middle was the secret. This may have been the key to control the best duo at the time: Pirlo, the maestro, and Kaka, the simplicity of the beautiful game.

In the second half, Liverpool had its phoenix moment with three goals in six minutes: in the 54th by Gerrard, 56th by Šmicer and 60th by Alonso. This avalanche of power and willingness to win lead the match to extra-time where Liverpool managed to hold the result and get A.C. Milan to face them in a penalty shootout.
Here, it was Jerzy Dudek who shined the most, dancing and confusing the Rossoneri, that missed 3 out of 5 penalties.

Here it is “The miracle of Istanbul” – 120 minutes of a non-scripted epic night where Liverpool knew that they would “Never walk alone”. The streets of Liverpool, the soul of Merseyside was with them, ready to take the trophy to Anfield Road.