A match that is forever etched into the annals of the Champions League, Milan and Liverpool may have only met on four previous occasions in competitive action, but their inaugural meeting provided one of the most unforgettable nights the tournament has ever seen.
Nothing more can be said about the 2005 Miracle of Istanbul that has not already been said, as Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool pulled off the improbable by fighting back from three goals down to take that year’s Champions League final to the unlikeliest of penalty shootouts.
Up steps Jerzy Dudek, who after producing a magnificent double save from Andriy Shevchenko in extra time also denied the Ukrainian and Andrea Pirlo from the penalty shootout; cue the scenes of Steven Gerrard hoisting the famous trophy aloft.
A miffed Milan avenged that agonising defeat two years later, though, when Filippo Inzaghi was at the double in the 2006-07 Champions League final to secure Milan’s seventh and most recent triumph in the competition; Dirk Kuyt’s effort was a mere consolation in Athens.
After locking horns twice in finals in the space of three years, Liverpool and Milan had to wait another 14 years to cross paths again in the Champions League, and in keeping with Reds-Rossoneri tradition, their September 2021 showdown was a thriller.
