AC MILAN v LECCE: TIME MACHINE

AC Milan and Lecce are preparing for a new battle after the draw at the Via del Mare in mid-January. Matchday 31 of Serie A is fast approaching and, as San Siro prepares to welcome the Salentini - Sunday 23 April at 18:00 CEST - to add a new chapter in the history between the two teams, we will relive the league clash that began the Rossoneri's 2005 with our Time Machine.

SETTING THE SCENE
In the summer before the 2004/05 season, reigning Italian champions Rossoneri signed two big names, Hernán Crespo and Jaap Stam. The 3-0 win over Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana - with Shevchenko's hat-trick - had kick-started the season for Coach Ancelotti's AC Milan, who were approaching the new 20-team Serie A with the aim of retaining their title. The 0-0 draw in Turin at leaders Juventus ended the first half of the season, while Zdeněk Zeman's Lecce were the first opponents of the new year on 6 January.  Before the match, San Siro paid homage to Andriy Shevchenko, who had just won the 2004 Ballon d'Or, as he received applause and ovation from the AC Milan fans.

KAKÁ THE CREATOR, CRESPO THE FINISHER
The Rossoneri began well and put Lecce on the back foot from minute one. It was the Kaká-Crespo duo that set the tone for the first half at San Siro: in the 23rd minute the Brazilian ran down the right and found Crespo at the far post with a brilliant pass for him to tap-in, and thirteen minutes later it was the number 22 again - this time on the opposite flank - who found the Argentine striker, who went past three men and slotted home to make it 2-0. In between the goals, AC Milan created multiple chances through Shevchenko and the irrepressible Kaká, without making them count. Andrea Pirlo's free-kick in the 44th minute nearly made it 3-0, as a one-sided first half came to an end.

4 FOR ROSSONERI BEFORE LECCE FIGHT BACK, TOMASSON SEALS IT
The second half began in the same way as the first, and the Rossoneri found their third in the 50th minute with Shevchenko's header after Pirlo's assist. Seven more minutes went by and Crespo made it four: Dhorasoo whipped in the ball for Sheva, and it was an easy header for Hernán, who scored his hat-trick from two yards out to the applause of San Siro. It seemed that the game was done and dusted, but Nesta's red card in the 74th minute got the Salentini back into it, who, in the 75th and 83rd minute, twice found a way past Dida thanks to Bojinov and Cassetti. It was Tomasson, who came on for Crespo, who ended the Lecce comeback after Shevchenko's assist in the 89th minute. It ended 5-2.

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