English title-holders Chelsea are bidding to become the first London club to
go all the way in the Champions League tournament.
Trailing Liverpool 1-0 late in the game at Anfield, Chelsea forward Frank
Lampard made good on a chance that came from a scramble off of a corner kick in
the 83rd minute. The loose ball dropped to his feet inside the box, and he
finished a chance that would have been more difficult to miss than to score.
Lampard made no mistake, striking home the equalizer to put Chelsea up 2-1 on
aggregate, putting them into the Champions League final for the first time in
history.
Liverpool led 1-0 at the half, taking an early lead in the 23rd minute on a
goal by John Arne Riise. Liverpool forward Peter Crouch headed a cross off of
the bar, and after a poor clearance from the Chelsea defense, Riise pounced on
the loose ball and let leash a shot from just outside the area that found its
way to the back of the net after taking a deflection off of defender John Terry.
According to the EA SPORTS simulated predictions, Chelsea will face AC Milan,
which advanced to the final with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at San
Siro. The two clubs tied on aggregate but Milan moved forward with more away
goals.
It is the ninth trip to the European Cup final for Milan, who last won the
trophy in 2003 with a penalty kicks victory over Juventus. Now only Chelsea
stands in its way of a seventh Champions League title.
Forward Filippo Inzaghi scored the only goal of the contest in the 73rd
minute for the Rossoneri. The play began when Clarence Seedorf pushed the ball
out wide to Kaka on the right side. Kaka raced down the wing, curling past one
defender to the corner of the 18 where he spotted Inzaghi loosely marked just
inside the box. Inzaghi quickly turned and fired a rocket to the far post for
the only goal of the contest.
That goal brought Milan level on aggregate after their 2-1 away defeat to Man
United in the first leg at Old Trafford, but the away goal rule puts Milan on to
the finals. It is the fourth straight time that Milan has ended Manchester
United’s Champions League title hopes. United lost to AC Milan 2-0 on aggregate
in the 2004-05 first knockout round, and in two previous European Cup semifinal
matches -- overturning a 2-1 first-leg deficit with a 4-0 home victory in
1957-58, and winning 2-1 on aggregate in 1968-69 to end the Old Trafford team's
reign as European champions.
The UEFA Champions League final will be held at the Olympic Stadium in Athens
on May 23.
First Leg -- Manchester United 2 AC Milan 1 at Old Trafford
In the first-leg, Manchester United forward Alan Smith scored a goal on a
diving header three minutes from the end of regulation to give United a 2-1 win
over Milan at Old Trafford.
Down 1-0 at the half, Manchester United came to life in the second half,
carrying the play and scoring twice. Forward Wayne Rooney scored in the 65th
minute to tie the match and Smith notched the game-winner in the 87th minute. On
the game-winning goal Rooney received the ball in midfield, turned his defender,
and played Cristiano Ronaldo a through ball to the corner. Ronaldo sent a
cross into the box to a wide open Smith who finished with a fantastic diving
header. United had tied the game in the 65th minute when midfielder Paul Scholes
played a through ball to an onrushing Rooney, who gathered it in and sent a low,
hard shot to the bottom left corner, setting the stage for Smith’s late-game
heroics.
Kaka staked Milan to an early 1-0 lead when he scored on his own rebound,
heading the ball past keeper Edwin van der Sar in the 30th minute.
First Leg - Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0
Playing in the semi-final for the third time in four campaigns, Chelsea won
the first leg when Didier Drogba scored the winner in the 62nd minute.
In this EA SPORTS simulation, Drogba scored on a great individual performance
when he beat three defenders to create space and fired home the winner into the
top right corner from 22 feet out.
Liverpool almost equaled in the closing seconds when midfielder Steven
Gerrard fired a shot off the post on a free kick from 25 yards out. It was
Liverpool’s best chance of the contest.
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