Champions League Final: AC Milan vs Liverpool (ALL-match comments)

if he didn't dive, he probably would have scored either way - so that is besides the point. he was right in front of goal and all he had to do was slot it past dida. which is why the ref gave the penalty because he thought "no way he would dive in such a clear scoring position".

Its true, Gerrard had no reason to go down if he wasnt touched as it was rolling into his path. It looked to me that Gattuso caught his left leg which broke his stride, putting his right leg out of sync. He did make a meal of it though, throwing his arms forward which always look bad afterwards and i dont know why anyone does it, the more theatrical it looks the more likely the ref will think its a dive

2) should have been a yellow, and same for Gattuso on the penalty. Both probably meant to do what they did but did it in such a way as to put doubt in the refs mind, so he couldnt send either of them off.

3) He was nowhere near outside of his box he was far enough off his line for it to be a retake though. I think Serginho missing the first was the crucial penalty as it put extra pressure on the remaining Milan takers and took some off Liverpools players. Thats not to blame Serginho who was brave enough to step forward, just pointing out that the order is crucial.

4) Baros definately didnt touch it and there was nothing wrong with the goal itself. One thing worth mentioning is that the game should have been stopped about 30 seconds earlier when the linesman flagged for offside against Liverpool and the ref ignored him. The ref shouldnt have ignored him as Milan didnt gain any advantage from clearing it, instead Liverpool kept possession and went on to score from the move

5) Sheva was offside imho.


All of this is really besides the point though, a 3 - 0 lead with 45minutes to go is a situation any team wanting to be Champions of Europe should be able to control. The way the players seemed lost and confused after Gerrard pulled one back was shocking, particularly when the past records of these players is examined. Seasoned pro's who have played at the highest level for years and they didnt know how to deal with the situation