On the horizon is Bayer Leverkusen v AC Milan, our second match in the 2024/25 Champions League. It’s a brand-new fixture for us: never before have we faced “Die Werkself”, who were founded in 1904 by employees of the pharmaceutical company Bayer, in a competitive match in Europe. There is a lot of curiosity surrounding the match at the BayArena, but the Rossoneri are no strangers to unprecedented matches against German opposition, like when they took on Schalke 04 twice in Europe’s elite competition during the 2005/06 campaign.
On 28 September 2005, Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan travelled to face Ralf Rangnick’s Schalke 04 on matchday 2 in Group E. In their opening match, the Rossoneri had beaten Fenerbahçe 3-1, thanks to a Kaká brace and a goal from Shevchenko, while the Germans had suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven on Dutch soil. In the Champions League, every match is important, and there can be no distractions. The setting for Schalke 04 v AC Milan was the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, where the game got off to a very quick start. Just 25 seconds were needed for the first magical moment of the evening to happen, with Seedorf letting fly with a right-footed effort that was too powerful for Rost. 1-0 to the Rossoneri.
However, AC Milan’s lead didn’t last long: in the third minute, Larsen headed home Lincoln’s cross to level matters. The equaliser didn’t affect the tempo, with both teams doing plenty of attacking for the rest of the half. The Rossoneri were the better side at the beginning of the second half and restored their advantage on the 59-minute mark: Maldini combined with Kaladze down the flank before cutting on to his right foot and sending in a perfect cross for Shevchenko to head past Rost and make it 2-1. The hosts responded once more as Altintop, on as a substitute, found the net with a fantastic right-footed strike from distance. The changes made ensured an intense finale, but the scoreline remained the same: full-time and a good point for the Diavolo.
