AC Milan booked their flight to destiny by destroying Manchester United in the rain lashed San Siro, and destroyed is not too strong a word to describe this footballing lesson and it sent a clear warning to Liverpool Fc that a mammoth task lies ahead.
A lot had been said about Milan's ageing squad of players but the blend of the experienced players and the sublime skills of Kaka produced one of the finest performances by a team in this competition for years. Milan were deadly in attack and broke up the Man utd play so well that Alex Ferguson's men never really entered this contest and at the end were probably lucky that Milan's irresistible football only produced 3 goals.
But Milan`s game was made to look even better because of their oppositions pure lack lustre performance. Sir Alex must be scratching his head wondering where did it all go so wrong, United`s fatigue probably played a part, but it was all Milan from the very first minute, while Man Utd looked like a team totally out of their depth and were lucky that it took Milan 11 minutes to get the first.
Man United are a much better team than their performance in Milan suggests and some might say that Ferguson whose measly haul of just one European cup for a team that has dominated the Premiership for so long got his tactics wrong, but i don't think the answer lies there, during the game he tried all that he could he moved his players around changed formations but whatever he did the flow of the game remained the same, so it really has to be blamed on the players and especially the big name players who just did not show up, Rooney was a spectator for much of the game while the much talked about battle between Ronaldo and Kaka on who is the best, never materialised, the Brazilian showing that he is a true contender for the title of `best footballer on the planet´ but it was a little unfair on Ronaldo as he is younger and in truth this is his first real headline grabbing year. Milan surely had one eye on the final and who their opponents would be and used this as motivation in overcoming Utd.
In the eyes of all Liverpool fans that night in Istanbul in 2005 is viewed as the greatest comeback of all time, but Milan must view it as the greatest capitulation in their clubs proud history and i cannot imagine as a player or a fan how it feels to be 3 nil up in the final of the greatest club competition of them all and then see it all fall apart so spectacularly. It must have been one of the most shocking and utterly disappointing moments in sport for players and fans alike, and the ultimate way to exact revenge would be to beat the team that caused their nightmare in a rematch at the same stage of the competition.
In Carlo Ancelotti they have one of the top managers in the game today who has been there done that and bought the t-shirt so expect a very well prepared and fired up Milan for the encounter in Athens, this will be the game of their lives for many of the Milan players, such was the hurt two years ago in Istanbul.
But Liverpool Football Club are not to be taken lightly either, this competition has become their speciality and overcoming the odds has become another. Rafa Benitez has some key advantages over Milan, Liverpool have a greater variety to their attack, Riise and Pennant down the wings, Alonso or Gerrard through the centre or the thing that Milan hate and fear the most as shown against Bayern, the ball over the top to Crouch, bypassing their formidable midfield. But central midfield is where this battle is going to be won or lost, one explanation for Man Utd`s demise against Milan is that their midfield has no bite, they still have not been able to find a player in the Roy Keane mould and it let Ivan Gattuso and Co break down and dominate midfield. But against Liverpool its a totally different proposition, the Anfield outfit have the passion and drive of Gerrard, the killer incisive passes of Alonso, Sissoko`s tenacity and non stop snapping at the heels of any opposing player or the man i hope will be chosen to partner Gerrard in the middle Mascherano, who combines the talents of both Alonso and Sissoko and is a perfect foil for Gerrard. Rafa has some very tough decisions to make but he has a squad capable of putting out a team that can beat Milan. And remember this Milan team despite their great performance against Man Utd is not as good as the team that we beat two years ago, but this is a much improved Liverpool team not only in personal but also now have the confidence and belief that they can beat any team in the world.
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