Today, we celebrate ten years since Istanbul. That evening – the 25th May 2005 – is a piece of history, one that ranks firmly alongside those other magical nights in Rome, London, Paris and Rome again. It will always be remembered and celebrated, and rightly so.
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Every single Liverpool fan harbours their own special memories of that night, while those too young to remember the final itself have seen countless video reruns and have suffered the plight of having every single moment described in pain-staking detail by their elders.
So for all you Reds feeling in a reminiscent mood today, we’ve recounted our 2004-05 Champions League run in its entirety. So click through the pages below and enjoy a trip down memory lane…
Qualifier
GAK 0-2 Liverpool (10th August 2004)
Rafael Benitez got off to the best possible start in what was his first competitive fixture as Liverpool manager. Michael Owen was left on the bench, just four days before his move to Real Madrid, but his absence did little to spoil the Reds’ opening night. Steven Gerrard scored both goals against the Austrian champions – who have since gone out of business and restarted in the amateur leagues – leaving us with a comfortable lead ahead of the return leg at Anfield.
Liverpool 0-1 GAK (24th August 2004)
It was a difficult and disappointing night on Merseyside, as the Reds were made to sweat profusely on our spot in the group stage. Mario Tokic got the goal early and we were left to hang on, with a vital saving tackle from Jamie Carragher late on almost certainly preventing extra time. The disgruntled supporters made their unhappiness clear at full-time, despite out progress.
Group Stage
Liverpool 2-0 Monaco (15th September 2004)
The Reds hit back with a brilliant team performance against the side that had finished second in the competition less than six months earlier, losing in the final to Porto. Djibril Cisse score the first – his first goal at Anfield – before Milan Baros scored a delightful second just before the end. Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso were equally instrumental as their partnership began to blossom in central midfield.
Olympiacos 1-0 Liverpool (28th September 2004)
Liverpool lost for the first time on Greek soil after a sorry performance in Athens. The Reds failed to have so much as a shot on target during a first-half in which they were dominated from start to finish. Leroklis Stoltidis deservedly grabbed the night’s only goal after 12 minutes, heading home Rivaldo’s free-kick. We pushed forward in search of an equaliser during the second-half but it was to no avail.
Liverpool 0-0 Deportivo La Coruna (19th October 2004)
It was another frustrating night for Liverpool as we failed to capitalise on a whole host of chances to claim a crucial three points. Djibril Cisse and Milan Baros were both denied by the brilliant goalkeeping of Jose Molina, while several other opportunities were painstakingly wasted.
Deportivo La Coruna 0-1 Liverpool (3rd November 2004)
The Reds came into this game knowing that we’d need to win at least one of our two remaining away games, with this match representing our best opportunity. A first-half own goal by Jorge Andrade proved to be enough, as we claimed our first win in Spain for more than 20 years. Luis Garcia missed a late chance to make the points safe but in the end it didn’t matter.
Monaco 1-0 Liverpool (23rd November 2004)
Javier Saviola scored the only goal as Liverpool dropped to third in our group ahead of the final round of fixtures. To make matters worse, both Luis Garcia and Josemi were stretchered off, joining Djibril Cisse and Milan Baros on the sidelines. Despite appearing to handle the ball in the build-up, Saviola’s goal stood, leaving goalkeeper Chris Kirkland looking understandably frustrated.
Liverpool 3-1 Olympiacos (8th December 2004)
It will go down as one of the most memorable nights in our European history. Needing to win by two clear goals to ensure qualification for the knock-out stages, we fell behind early to a sublime Rivaldo free-kick, leaving us with everything to do and time against us. Substitute Florent Sinama-Pongolle struck first, just moments after coming on, before Neil Mellor repeated the trick to leave Benitez looking like a managerial genius. But the decisive third was all about Steven Gerrard, who rifled the ball into the corner of the net from range to leave Anfield in hysterics.
Last 16
Liverpool 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen (22nd February 2005)
It was a near perfect night for Liverpool. Despite Gerrard watching from the stands due to suspension, the Reds produced a dominant performance to all but dispatch our German opponents inside the first 90 minutes of the tie. Luis Garcia and John Arne Riise put us into an early two goal lead, while Dietmar Hamann netted what looked to be an all important third just as the clock ticked onto 90 minutes. A mistake from Jerzy Dudek allowed Franca to net a late consolation and put a seed of doubt in the minds of our supporters.
Bayer Leverkusen 1-3 Liverpool (9th March 2005)
The Reds put out a big statement with this thoroughly professional performance. Leverkusen’s away goal was quickly cancelled out by Luis Garcia, who then added a second himself following a corner from Gerrard. Baros grabbed the third with an impressive volley, although there was still time for Jacek Krzynowek to score arguably the goal of the night and give Leverkusen fans something to smile about.
Quarter-Final
Liverpool 2-1 Juventus (5th April 2005)
Liverpool were in dream land after half an hour of this one. Sami Hyypia scored an immaculate volley to give the Reds the lead, only to be outdone by a ridiculous long-range strike from Garcia, which left everyone inside Anfield with their mouths hanging open. Fabio Cannavaro pulled a goal back for the visitors after a mix up at the back, leaving the tie very much in the balance heading back to Turin.
Juventus 0-0 Liverpool (13th April 2005)
The Reds had Carragher and Hyypia to thank for their immense defensive performances, as we booked our place in the last four. Juventus threw everything at us but simply couldn’t find a way through, with goalkeeper Scott Carson pulling off a number of memorable saves in the absence of Dudek.
Semi-Final
Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (27th April 2005)
We repeated the trick two weeks later, earning another valuable draw, this time at Stamford Bridge, meaning a win at Anfield would be enough to send us to Istanbul. Dudek barely had a save to make as another fine performance from the underdogs prevented the Premier League champions from creating anything at all. Xabi Alonso’s late yellow card, ruling him out of the second leg, was the only disappointment.
Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (3rd May 2005)
Luis Garcia’s infamous ‘ghost goal’ was enough to send us through to the final. Only three minutes had passed when Gerrard’s flick sent Baros surging clear. The striker was crumpled by the onrushing Petr Cech, only for Garcia to seemingly prod home from close range. William Gallas hooked the ball clear but the goal was still given, arguably saving the Blues from a red card and a penalty. We later endured six minutes of added time, which included Eidur Gudjohnsen inexplicably lashing the ball wide with the goal gaping, but we held on.
Final
Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan – Liverpool win 3-2 on penalties (25th May 2005)
One of the most incredible games of football that there has ever been. The ‘Miracle of Istanbul’, which won us the competition for the fifth time in our history, was a roller-coaster of a match that will still be talked about in 50 years time. Paolo Maldini gave Milan the lead inside a minute, before a Hernan Crespo double before the break had the favourites in dreamland.
But, back came Liverpool, with Steven Gerrard heading in our first just nine minutes after the break to give us hope. Two minutes later and it was 3-2, Vladimir Smicer’s long-range effort alluding Dida and finding the corner of the net. By the hour mark, we were inexplicably level, Xabi Alonso finding the roof of the net after following up from his own penalty, which was initially saved by the Brazilian stopper.
The Reds endured a painful 30 minutes of extra-time, where tired legs were evident, and only a mind-boggling double save from Jerzy Dudek prevented Andriy Shevchenko from netting the winner.
Dudek was the hero again in the penalty shoot-out, saving twice from Andrea Pirlo and Shevchenko. Serginho also blazed over as Milan missed three of their five penalties, while successful efforts from Hamann, Cisse and Smicer proved enough to take the trophy back to Merseyside for keeps.
Liverpool team in full: Dudek, Finnan (Hamann 46′), Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Alonso, Gerrard, Garcia, Riise, Kewell (Smicer 23′), Baros (Cisse 85′). Unused substitutes: Carson, Josemi, Nunez, Biscan.
