#ONTHISDAY: 2006, AC MILAN 1‑0 CRVENA ZVEZDA

Even a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. The story of the Rossoneri's seventh Champions League triumph, which they achieved thanks to their victory over Liverpool in Athens on 23 May 2007, started 287 days before that match. On 9 August 2006, to be precise. That day, AC Milan took to the pitch during the preliminary stages of Europe's elite competition. Their opponents at San Siro were Crvena zvezda, a big name who they'd memorably met before.

The build-up to the game was by no means simple: only at the end of July was it confirmed that Ancelotti's side would be involved in the 52nd edition of the tournament after a successful appeal against the original Calciopoli verdict. Making things more difficult was the fact that there were several absences in defence: whether injured or suspended, Kaladze, Maldini, Nesta and new arrival Bonera were all unavailable.

Although the visitors were the first to threaten through Janković, and despite having various players out, the Rossoneri remained calm and got hold of the ball from the get-go. Cafu was heavily involved in the opening 15 minutes, contributing to three chances which, however, didn't lead to a goal. Meanwhile, Gattuso, Pirlo and Seedorf were keeping things ticking over in the middle of the park.

In addition to Cafu, Pirlo was looking particularly impressive and causing the Serbian defence all sorts of problems with his passing. Both were firm fixtures in a side that lined up in a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Simić and Costacurta selected as the centre-back pairing. Meanwhile, Serginho was playing at left-back, and the front duo consisted of Inzaghi and Gilardino in AC Milan’s first competitive fixture since Andriy Shevchenko's departure.

On the day of his 33rd birthday, it was SuperPippo who opened the scoring at San Siro. Indeed, Inzaghi fired home in the 21st minute following a fine move involving Kaká and Gilardino.

AC Milan's lead inevitably changed the balance of the two-legged tie where away goals applied. Basta and Zigic both had attempts as the away side looked to respond, but Dida wasn't unduly troubled.

There wasn't much else to report for the remainder of the first half, while the second period started with AC Milan playing in a much more proactive manner in an attempt to double their advantage and take a giant step towards qualification. Inzaghi and Gilardino were in inspired form and came close to bagging the team's second on several occasions.

Changes were also made, including on a tactical level: Ancelotti switched to a Christmas tree formation, with Seedorf and Kaká supporting Inzaghi in attack. Ambrosini, Brocchi and Gourcuff all came on, the latter of whom made his Rossoneri debut following his arrival in the previous weeks.

However, there were no further goals and the scoreline remained the same: 1-0 to AC Milan. Two weeks later, the Rossoneri finished the job, winning 2-1 at the Marakàna in Belgrade thanks to goals from Inzaghi and Seedorf. They would be two key figures during our European nights in the following months.

Tickets are available for AC Milan v Torino: see you at San Siro!