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Liverpool FC have won the 2004-2005 UEFA Champions League tournament. The English side beat AC Milan, the team that eliminated PSV in the semi finals, on penalties in Istanbul on Wednesday night.AC Milan had a dream start. Maldini put the Italian side on top by scoring a goal in the very first minute. Never before in the history of the most prestigious European football tournament did a club take such an early lead. AC Milan did not lean back and thanks to a Hernan Crespo double, AC Milan were 3-0 on top at half time.So it looked things were all over for Liverpool, but the English staged an amazing comeback. Captain Steven Gerrard produced a fine header that went home on ten minutes after the break. The Reds icon urged on his team mates and his supporters to complete a mission impossible.And it paid off, for two minutes later Liverpool were back in the game. Vladimir Smicer, who had already been brought on for Harry Kewell in the first period, curled home a low twenty-yard effort. And the Reds cancelled out the deficit completely when Gerrard conveniently went down in the box and Liverpool earned a penalty. Xabi Alonso was thwarted by AC Milan goalkeeper Dida at first, but he fired home from the resulting rebound after all: 3-3. Neither team found the net in the remaining minutes of official time, nor in extra time, so a penalty shoot out was needed to get a result. Liverpool goalie Dudek goalie then became the star of the night: by wildly making crazy dance movements on his line in a Bruce Grobbelaar fashion, he attempted to demoralize his opponents. The Polish keeper stopped two penalties from specialists Pirlo and Sjevtsjenko, and Serginho wildly blasted his spot kick over the goal. The Reds failed to convert only one time and thus collected the most important European piece of silverware for the fifth time in their rich history, on a night full of drama in Istanbul.
