AC MILAN AND THE SEMI‑FINAL FIRST LEG: TIME MACHINE

Derby, what else can be said. Words are of no use now. The Champions League semi-final is always an emotional ride, but with Inter as the opponents it is simply waited with bated breath. To ease some tension and take hope from the past, the European derby has always been kind to us with two qualifications secured: in 2003 and 2005. The most recent fixture is where we would like to travel to in our Time Machine, looking back at the semi-final first leg against PSV Eindhoven at San Siro.

SETTING THE SCENE
April 2005. AC Milan, PSV, Chelsea and Liverpool were all in the fight for the final, as they looked to beat their respective opponent to get there. The Rossoneri faced a Dutch side who were the relevation of that season's edition. Ancelotti's side, who were showing excellent form, had eliminated Inter in the quarters (2-0 and 3-0), while PSV, under national side legend Guus Hiddink, had beaten Lyon on penalties (1-1 draws in both games). AC Milan were without Nesta, with PSV putting on show some notable, future Rossoneri players in Alex, van Bommel and Vogel.

THE FIRST SERVED UP BY SHEVCHENKO...
The first half was surprisingly open, with space across the pitch available for both sides to exploit going forward. The home side had their chances: two minutes in and Shevchenko hit one on the volley; first Crespo and then Stam both came close to opening the scoring after a scramble in the box, from a corner, on ten minutes; and a bit of Kaká magic was saved by Gomes on the half-hour mark. The hosts held firm and also responded, mainly thanks to Farfán: he made Dida work after 12 minutes, and three minutes later hit a weak effort on target after a promising breakaway. The 79,000-strong crowd at San Siro were enjoying and appreciating the spectacle on show, with only goals missing. But up stepped Sheva: Kaká's ball forward was genius, cutting out the pitch and the defence, for Andriy to beat Bouma to the ball and fire home past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 after 42 minutes. 

...AND THE SECOND BY TOMASSON
After the break, PSV came out more aggressive and forward-thinking, with the Diavolo suffering despite having a grip on the game: after 48 minutes, Dida did enough to block out an effort on goal; Nelson then saved from Park's close-range shot on 55 minutes; van Bommel wasted his side's best chance of the game after 67 minutes shooting over; two minutes later and Park again couldn't find the target. On the 79th and 90th minute, Dida kept out van Bommel. The Rossoneri risked losing their lead, with only Shevchenko (a beautiful chip flicked over by Gomes) and Kaká (weak left-footed shot) giving the opposition defence any cause for concern. But just as stoppage-time approached, the second arrived to make it 2-0: Kaká's shot in the area was saved, but Tomasson - a sub along with Ambrosini and Serginho - was there to pounce like a hawk to turn the ball home. It was a massive goal and a massive win, especially if you remember how the second leg went...

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