AC MILAN AND THE FIRST LEG OF THE QUARTER-FINALS: TIME MACHINE

There have been Milan derbies in the Champions League before and they have always been rewarding for AC Milan. There is also the historic Italian final in 2003 at Old Trafford in Manchester: AC Milan present, AC Milan champion. Inter, Juventus, now Napoli. In Europe, the Rossoneri have made the difference even against rivals from the same country. History cannot be erased, it does not stop shining, it is banging on the door. On the occasion of AC Milan vs Napoli, the new Italian derby in Europe, let's remember the famous AC Milan vs Inter match in the 2004/05 edition, first leg of the quarter-finals at San Siro as the one coming up.

THE SCENARIO
AC Milan and Inter Milan came into the big match after different paths, sharing only the qualification to the knockout phase thanks to coming first place in their respective groups. Ancelotti's Rossoneri finished above Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic with 13 points. Mancini's Nerazzurri - starting from the third qualifying round against Basel - did better, 14 points, ahead of Werder Bremen, Valencia and Anderlecht. In the Round of 16, Crespo eliminated Manchester United (two goals in the both 1-0 results) and Adriano eliminated Porto (hat-trick in the 3-1 home win after the 1-1 away draw). By 6 April 2005, the date of this eagerly-awaited big match, the Derby in Serie A had already gone into the archives: 0-0 the first, 1-0 the second signed by Kaká.

DIDA PARRIES, STAM SCORES
Here is the Rossoneri's 4-3-1-2: Dida; Cafu, Stam, Nesta, Maldini; Seedorf, Pirlo, Gattuso; Kaká; Shevchenko, Crespo. Standard formation, but the presence of Sheva (reigning Ballon d'Or winner) was a novelty: the Ukrainian returns to the EuroDerby after an absence of a month and a half to recover from the facial injury suffered in the league. Excitement preceded the opening whistle, when Pope Wojtyla was remembered a few days after his death. In the first half, Inter did more: from Mihajlović's free kick to Verón's one, to Cordoba's deflection and Cruz's right-footed shot. It was Dida, in scintillating form at the time, who extinguished every sign of danger. AC Milan did not look so inspired, but they only needed a flash to show they were strong. A free-kick in the second half: Pirlo with the ball in, Stam was imperious and smashed the ball into the net to make it 1-0.

SHEVA'S RETURN, MILAN IS RED AND BLACK
Another Mihajlović free-kick, this time high, opened the second half. Time was running out and the match remained fairly deadlocked, the compact and shrewd teams putting on a good show. Vieri started off the substitutions, while Shevchenko grew: on Kaká's cross he narrowly missed the target. From Karagkounīs to Kaladze, the number of fresh legs increased as did the level of fatigue. It was a good time to strike, the Diavolo still had a shot and decided to use it for 2-0. They practically copied the move for the opener: Pirlo's cut-back free-kick, Sheva's header from a scramble and Toldo's unmarked header into the low corner. For Andriy it was a liberation, celebrated by taking off the shirt that cost him a yellow card. Amen. In the final, Karagkounīs' post and Toldo's miracle on Shevchenko. Then the curtain came down. AC Milan were victorious in the quarter-final.

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