Unexpected Winners: Liverpool 2005 Champions League
Today’s instalment of unexpected winners will probably be best remembered for the remarkable final that decided the destination of the 2005 Champions League trophy, but Liverpool’s run to that final was far from straight forward and deserves just as much attention.
The Reds would have to qualify for the group stage having finished 4th in the Premier League the previous season, and would face Grazer AK from Austria to get there. A brace from Steven Gerrard would win the first the leg in Graz and although the Austrians would win the second leg 1-0 at Anfield, Liverpool would advance 2-1 on aggregate.
They would be drawn in a group with the competition’s 2004 runners up AS Monaco, as well as Olympiacos and Deportivo La Coruna. The Reds couldn’t have made a better start either, beating the French side 2-0 at Anfield thanks to goals from Djibril Cisse and Milan Baros. Rafa Benitez’s men would then struggle in the next four games though losing to both Monaco and Olympiacos and picking up four points against Deportivo.
That poor run of form would set up a huge match with Olympiacos on the final matchday of the group. The Greeks were top of the group but if the Reds could beat them by two goals at Anfield they would qualify ahead of them. What unfolded was a classic European night under the Merseyside lights, but it started awfully with Rivaldo netting a free kick after 25 minutes to put the visitors ahead.
An inspired change during the break, saw Florent Sinama Pongolle come on and level the scores just two minutes into the second half. Liverpool would struggle after that though and it took until the 81st minute for Neil Mellor to bundle the ball in and provide the Scousers with a glimmer of hope. As always, when the Reds needed someone to deliver, Gerrard stepped up and lashed home a cushioned header from Mellor 30 yards out to send Anfield into raptures and prompt Andy Gray into his iconic “Oh, you beauty!” commentary.
A second place group finish would set up a round of 16 tie with Bayer Leverkusen, who Benitez’s men would see off easily winning both legs 3-1 (6-2 on aggregate). They would face a sterner test in the quarter-finals against Juventus but a 2-1 win in the first leg, courtesy of goals from Sami Hyypia and Luis Garcia, would be enough to clinch a place in the semi-final for Liverpool, who ground out a goalless draw in Turin.
Whilst the Reds had struggled in the league, their semi-final opponents had fared somewhat differently. Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side would win the league with 95 points, only losing one game and conceding just 15 goals in 38 games (a record that still stands today) so many would be forgiven for writing off Benitez’s side.
The first leg at Stamford Bridge would end goalless to once again set up a famous European night at Anfield. Liverpool were well organised under Benitez and it meant the two sides were quick to nullify each other, but a fast start in the second leg allowed Garcia to scrappily put the Scousers ahead after just 4 minutes. The referee had judged the ball to be over the line before William Gallas could clear it but Mourinho would famously call it a “ghost goal” after the match.
A couple of inspired saves from Jerzy Dudek and a key miss from Eidur Gudjohnsen would mean the Blues would come up short though and that Benitez had guided the Reds to a Champions League final in his first season as manager.
However, their miraculous run would need one last Herculean effort in Istanbul to beat the mighty AC Milan. I Rossoneri had swept aside Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, their fierce rivals Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven on their way to the final and its easy to see why. Carlo Ancelotti’s team was littered with world class players and that is best demonstrated by their starting XI for the final- Dida, Cafu, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko and Hernan Crespo. Lets not forget Rui Costa, Jon Dahl Tomasson and Serginho on the bench as well.
Liverpool’s team was slightly more modest and was made to look ordinary in a scintillating first half performance from Milan. Maldini turned in a free kick after just a minute to put the Italians in front and then in a crazy five minute spell before the break, the game appeared to get away from the Reds. First I Rossoneri capped off a flowing counter attack with a tap in for Crespo before the Argentinian then bagged his second, and Milan’s third, when a gorgeous pass from Kaka evaded the outstretched legs of Jamie Carragher and found him one one one with Dudek, who he delicately lifted the ball over.
When the whistle blew for half time there was a feeling of resignation amongst most football fans but apparently not those from Merseyside who had travelled to the game. A deafening rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” rang around the ground during the break and the apparent belief of the fans transferred onto the pitch not long after.
In just six second half minutes, Liverpool channelled all of their European pedigree and flipped the game on its head. First it was another case of cometh the hour, cometh the man with Gerrard heading in John Arne Riise’s cross before a daisy cutter from Vladimir Smicer beat Dida and reduced the deficit to just one. The Reds captain was then heavily involved again and was brought down by Gattuso in the box to earn Benitez’s men a spot kick. Xabi Alonso took the penalty and saw it saved by Dida only so he could lash in the rebound and complete the improbable comeback.
From that point on, Dudek would become the hero. The game would go into extra time and with just three minutes left until penalties the Pole would pull off a staggering double save from Shevchenko at close range. He would then follow up that success in the shootout, seeing Serginho blast over his penalty before denying both Pirlo and Shevchenko from 12 yards, the latter clinching the cup for the Reds.
The game is regarded by many as the greatest Champions League Final of all time and the win was Liverpool’s 5th in their history which allowed them to keep the trophy and wear the multiple winners badge from then on.
Milan would get their revenge two years later in Athens but in the annals of history, the 2005 final will be remembered forever.