Liverpool and AC Milan despite losing the first leg of their respective semi final matches came up with much better performances to win their second leg matches and make it through to the finals. The match up of Liverpool and Milan in the finals, which is the repeat of the 2005 finals, is the best I could have hoped for. In 2005 Liverpool beat AC Milan in penalties, this time I want and also think AC Milan to and will win. You have to look at Milan's matches with Manchester United to see why...
Liverpool had lost 0-1 to Chelsea in the first leg but won the 2nd leg 1-0. Being tied at an aggregate score of 1-1 the teams headed for penalties where Liverpool's goalkeeper pulled off two magnificent saves. He guessed right twice and saved two low and hard drives to send Liverpool into the finals. I saw the first leg and Chelsea looked better and I felt Chelsea would win the second leg too. But, I missed the second leg, from the reports I read Chelsea played with a very bad defensive strategy. They thought they would sit on the one goal lead but Liverpool made them pay. From the highlights Liverpool did look as the better team.
Now in the other semi final match up, AC Milan in the first leg, despite a stunning performance by Kaká had lost 2-3 to Manchester United. Dida, Milan's goalkeeper, had a very poor performance where he committed two bad mistakes that had resulted in goals. Dida's performance was so frustrating that one Milan fan had put Dida up on sale on eBay and just before eBay pulled out the auction item the best bid for the goalkeeper was just 96$s! Dida's second mistake was in the 91st minute deep in extra time that resulted in Milan going into the second leg down 2-3.
In the second leg Milan just outclassed ManU, winning 3-0 and thus going through on aggregate 5-3. I saw both the matches and ManU was a shadow of its own self in the second leg. They gave the ball away 21 times and C. Ronaldo was responsible for many of those. Kaká and Seedorf executed a perfect script to embarrass ManU. Milan used the home field advantage thoroughly, the San Siro crowd cheering every Kaká move and jeering every C. Ronaldo slip up.
Here is what one report had to say “Certainly, C Ronaldo owes his manager a performance after last night, so too Wayne Rooney, both of whom only needed to look to Kaká and Clarence Seedorf to know how true winners respond.”
During the first leg the commentators had gotten into an argument about who is better Kaká or C. Ronaldo. And obviously one English commentator picked C. Ronaldo and went on and on about his pace and brilliance. But the two matches showed how people should not even be mentioning C. Ronaldo along with Kaká. Kaká scored 3 goals in the two matches and two of them in the first leg were just his own sheer brilliance. C. Ronaldo had so much possession and took so many free kicks all amounting to nothing. But anytime Kaká had possession he was breathtakingly fluid with sublime control. He created opportunities all round and just ripped the ManU midfield and defense. After these two matches there is no doubt in my mind who I consider to be currently the best footballer in the world.
Highlights from the the first leg of the Milan vs ManU match, just keep your eyes on Kaká:
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