18 years ago, on this day, Liverpool won the final of the European championship miraculously, coming back from a 3-0 first half deficit. The match was played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, so is known as the "Miracle of Istanbul". It was Liverpool's fifth European Cup, which meant they were awarded the trophy permanently and the right to wear a multiple-winner badge.

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said:

"I can't explain it. I thought Milan were the better team."

Of Course Milan were the better team. Milan were regarded as favorites and their team included many players who had experienced success in the competition. The most notable was captain Paolo Maldini, who had won the competition four times previously, all with Milan, and Clarence Seedorf who had won the competition three times with three clubs.

Road to Final

Liverpool finished second in their group behind 2004 Champions League runners-up AS Monaco. They beat Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea in the knockout rounds.

Milan won their group ahead of Barcelona and faced Manchester United, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven before reaching the final.

The final

Milan scored within the first minute of the match after captain Paolo Maldini volleyed in an Andrea Pirlo free kick that had been conceded by Djimi Traoré. The goal made Maldini the oldest scorer in the history of the competition. Kaka dribbled the ball into the Liverpool half and passed to Shevchenko, who passed to Crespo at the far post to score and make it 2–0(39 minute). Minutes later, Crespo extended Milan's lead with a chip over Dudek after Kaka provided the assist to make it 3–0(44').

With an unbelievable reaction, Liverpool scored in the 54(Gerrard),56(Smicer) ,and 61st(Alonso) minutes of the second half.

Gerrard scored from a Riise cross. Šmicer beat Dida with a long-range shot into the bottom left-hand corner. Three minutes after Šmicer's goal, Liverpool were awarded a penalty, after Gerrard made a run into the Milan box for Baros' lay-off and was brought down by Gennaro Gattuso. Alonso's penalty was saved, but he scored from the rebound to equalize for Liverpool.