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The club managed to perform a kind of miracle at the Olympic Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul. Trailing 0-3 after the first half, the English team managed to come back and after a penalty shootout of 3-2 (result after two halves was 3-3) defeated the team and won the UEFA Champions League trophy.
1' [1 - 0] Paolo Maldini 39' [2 - 0] Hernan Crespo 43' [3 - 0] Hernan Crespo 54' [3 - 1] Steven Gerard 56' [3 - 2] Vladimir Smicer 60' [3 - 3] Xabi Alonso
The first goal of the match came in the first minute, when after a pass from the edge Paolo Maldini sent the ball into the net guarded by Jerzy Dudek.
Although the English tried to change the course of the match, the Italians continued to control the game and create opportunities for goals. In the 29th minute, Andriy Shevchenko once again defeated the "Liverpool" goalkeeper, but he did it while being offside and the referee did not count the goal.
However, in the 39th minute, the Ukrainian made a great pass from the left side and Hernan Crespo had only to send the ball into the goal from a few meters away. The final point in the half, and perhaps the whole match, was again scored by H. Crespo. The Argentine, after a great pass from the center of the field, found himself alone against the opponents' goalkeeper and defeated him for the third time.
However, the situation changed radically after the break. In the 54th minute of the match, "Liverpool" captain Steven Gerrard sent the ball into the goal guarded by Dida, thus reviving hope for his team.
Just two minutes after appearing on the field as a substitution, Vladimir Smicer, after a mistake by Dida outside the penalty area, sent the ball into the goal - the score became 3-2.
After two lightning-fast goals, "Milan" noticeably faltered. In the 60th minute, the intrigue reached its climax - a penalty was awarded to the "Milan" goal, which Xabi Alonso stepped up to take. His shot from the penalty spot was saved by Dida, but Alonso rushed to the ball first and sent it into the net. The second half ended with the score tied at 3-3.
During extra time, the "Milan" players were more active, and with 4 minutes left until the end of the second extra time, they could have snatched a victory, but the fantastic performance by "Liverpool" goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who deflected Andriy Shevchenko's shot from a few meters away.
The end of the match had to be decided by a penalty shootout. The first attempt by "Milan" was inaccurate - Serginho's shot went wide. The second attempt by Dietmar Hamann was successful and led his team ahead. Djibril Cisse doubled the score, scoring a goal after Andrea Pirlo's shot was saved by Jerzy Dudek. "Milan" scored their first penalty only on the third attempt, when Tomasson was accurate, and after Dudek saved John Arne Riise's shot, the score became 2-1. Later, Kaka and Smicer successfully converted their shots, but Shevchenko's shot was once again deflected by the excellent goalkeeper Dudek, which meant that "Liverpool" became the new owner of the UEFA Champions League trophy.
