Istanbul Champions League Final 2005

Lore & Background

Liverpool's comeback from 3–0 down at half-time to level the scores in a dramatic six-minute spell gave rise to the final being known as the Miracle of Istanbul, and is regarded as one of the greatest finals in the history of the tournament. Milan took the lead within the first minute through captain Paolo Maldini, and striker Hernán Crespo added two more goals before half-time. In the second half, Liverpool scored three goals through Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso to level the scores. The scores remained the same during extra time, and a penalty shoot-out was required. The score was 3–2 to Liverpool when Andriy Shevchenko's penalty was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

Reader's Guide

The final was held at Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium; it was the first time a European final had been held in Turkey. Each team was allocated 20,000 tickets for the final, out of a total of 69,000. 14,400 tickets were made available to the general public, with half of those allocated through a ballot on UEFA's website, and the other half reserved for Turkish fans by the Turkish Football Federation. The final 14,600 tickets were distributed to UEFA's 'football family'. At least 30,000 Liverpool fans made the trip to Istanbul, but only 20,000 were expected to have tickets. The referee for the final was Manuel Mejuto González, who led an all-Spanish crew of officials.

Did You Know?

• Milan were regarded as favourites before the match and had won the competition six times previously.
• Liverpool had been considered underdogs throughout the competition, but had beaten more favoured opposition, including Juventus and Chelsea, to reach the final.
• The winning goal in the semi-final scored by Luis García was dubbed a ghost goal by Chelsea manager José Mourinho.