TIME MACHINE: AC MILAN v MANCHESTER UNITED

AC Milan, English sides and the Champions League. Liverpool will always leave us with a bittersweet taste, thanks to the 2007 final and the 2005 final. The most recent meetings between the sides came in the Champions League Group Stage of the 2021/22 season, with the Reds winning both matches, but Tuesday evening's match under the lights of San Siro marks the beginning of a new story, with the debut of the new-look competition. In the meantime, let's prepare for the next match against English opponents by reliving a match which is about to reach its 20th anniversary: AC Milan 1-0 Manchester United from the 2004/05 season. 

We find ourselves in March and with the return of the last-16 knockout stage. In the first leg, the Diavolo beat United 1-0 at Old Trafford with a Crespo goal in the latter stages of the game. We returned to Milan with a slender but very precious lead. But first, let's head back in time with a bit of context: the Rossoneri reached the knockout stage after topping their group of Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic. Facing United with the likes of Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand and a young Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished second behind Lyon in their group, was far from a lucky draw. The first leg in England was a battle, the Diavolo knew better than to make great calculations: they needed to be at their best to reach the next stage. Ancelotti chose to go with a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Stam returning to the team and Crespo as the lone striker (Shevchenko unavailable). Ferguson opted for putting Howard back in goal (after a poor performance from Carroll) and Van Nistelrooy regained his starting place. 

The game played out surprisingly, characterised by spaces for both teams to attack and rapid back-and-forth battles. Giggs hitting the post from a left-footed effort, and Kaká hitting the crossbar pretty much summed up the most important first-half chances. The level of adrenaline and tension rose during the break. Crespo sent a warning shot with a header over the bar, but then just after an hour of play, he repeated the script which played out in Manchester, scoring and deciding the match. The goal was brilliant but very difficult to pull off: Cafu's cross was met by Crespo, who managed to latch on to the ball and directed his header whilst in the air, softly lobbing the keeper into the far corner. It was a genuinely brilliant piece of skill worthy of the ticket price, and crumbled the hopes of the opposition. Crespo, Van Nistelrooy, Gattuso, the emotions of whom were under wraps until an explosion of joy when Fandel blew the whistle, bringing the game to an end and confirming the Rossoneri's path to the next round. 

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