Five Great English Victories Over Italian Teams
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England v Italy: Five Great English Victories Over Italian Teams
As English and Italian teams prepare to resume battle in the Champions League, Goal.com’s Graham Lister recalls five classic English club triumphs over Italian opposition...
Jerzy Dudek1. Leeds United 1-0 AC Milan
Elland Road, England, 19 September, 2000
Leeds United stunned Milan in rain-lashed Yorkshire, and in so doing re-ignited their Champions League campaign. David O'Leary's spirited side had produced a cracking performance but looked like having to settle for a goalless draw and a point in this first group stage encounter - until a calamitous howler by Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper Dida two minutes from time handed them a vital victory on a sodden Elland Road pitch.
Dida made a hash of Lee Bowyer's speculative 30-yard drive and suddenly Leeds had the victory they deserved. The win was all the more remarkable because Leeds had been thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona in their first Group H game, and went into this clash against the highly-fancied Rossoneri depleted by a lengthy injury list.
But fears that the Whites might be given a footballing lesson proved unfounded: Oliver Bierhoff was shackled and only the electrifyingly fast Andriy Shevchenko offered much of a goal threat for Milan, while O'Leary's patched-up side played above themselves. The fact that on the same night Barcelona lost to Besiktas was a bonus, keeping alive Leeds' hopes of qualification to the second group stage.
Injuries had opened the way for Dominic Matteo to make his debut following a £4.25 million move from Liverpool, and he proved to be one of the best performers in a white shirt, ably supported by Olivier Dacourt and Bowyer in midfield.
Leeds set the tempo and had a penalty appeal dismissed when Alan Smith went down under a challenge from Jose Antonio Chamot on 53 minutes. Paolo Maldini was booked for hauling Smith down, while at the other end Nigel Martyn produced excellent saves to thwart Shevchenko twice. But with time running out, Bowyer's speculative shot was spilled by Dida, and the ball rolled over the line into the net.
By the time the return at San Siro came around, Leeds needed one more point to progress, and earned it with a 1-1 draw. They beat Lazio in the second group and went on to reach the semi-finals, eventually losing to Valencia. Now, as they struggle to secure a play-off place in England's third-tier, those Champions League exploits seem a long way away...
Leeds: Martyn, Kelly, Harte, Duberry, Mills, Bowyer, Bakke, Dacourt, Matteo, Bridges, Smith.
Subs: Robinson, Huckerby, Jones, Hay, Burns, Evans, Hackworth.
AC Milan: Dida, Chamot, Costacurta, Maldini, Helveg, Albertini, Giunti, Coco, Guglielminpietro, Bierhoff, Shevchenko.
Subs: Rossi, De Ascentis, Leonardo, Roque Junior, Sala, Serginho, Saudati.
2. Lazio 0-4 Chelsea
Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 4 November, 2003
Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea routed Lazio with a clinical display in Rome that saw them take control of Champions League Group G. The Blues included former Lazio stars Hernan Crespo and Juan Sebastian Veron in their line up, and it was Crespo who opened the scoring after 15 minutes. Keeper Matteo Sereni should have dealt better with Veron's cross but palmed it towards Crespo, who bundled it in from close-range.
Then on 34 minutes, Lazio defender Sinisa Mihajlovic embellished an already tarnished reputation among English fans - he'd been banned by UEFA three years earlier for directing racist remarks at Arsenal's Patrick Vieira.- by kicking Adrian Mutu and spitting in his face. Shamefully, both incidents went unpunished by the Russian referee, so he was allowed to stay on the pitch - but only until the 52nd minute when he was sent off for a second yellow card offence, a hack at Duff. Mihajlovic refused to leave the touchline immediately and was eventually escorted down the tunnel by a UEFA official.
By then Lazio had nearly equalised early in the second half when Carlo Cudicini saved first from Dejan Stankovic and then superbly from Bernardo Corradi. But with the Bancocelesti reduced to 10-man, Chelsea went for the jugular.
Substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen slotted the ball home after Sereni could only parry a Frank Lampard drive, then Duff jinked his way through the Lazio defence before coolly converting for number three. And when Sereni parried another effort, there was Lampard on hand to capitalise and give the scoreline an emphatic look.
The Blues were reduced to 10 men themselves when Glen Johnson collected a second yellow card in the final minute, but by then they were home and hosed, and well on their way on a journey that was to take them to their first Champions League semi-final.
Lazio: Sereni, Zauri, Couto, Mihajlovic, Favalli, Stankovic, Liverani, Albertini (Muzzi 71), Fiore (Negro 58), Corradi, Inzaghi (Lopez 71).
Subs not used: Casazza, Dabo, Giannichedda, Sergio Conceicao.
Chelsea: Cudicini, Johnson, Gallas, Terry, Bridge, Veron (Cole 76), Makelele, Lampard, Duff, Crespo (Gudjohnsen 67), Mutu (Gronkjaer 57).
Subs not used: Ambrosio, Huth, Geremi, Hasselbaink.
3. Manchester United 7-1 Roma (aggregate 8-3)
Old Trafford, Manchester, 10 April, 2007
Manchester United needed to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of this quarter-final in Rome, a game marred by crowd disturbances and accusations of heavy-handed policing. There were further scuffles between rival fans outside Old Trafford before kick-off, but what was memorable was what unfolded on the pitch, United turning on a dazzling display that blew the Giallorossi out of the water.
Francesco Totti went close for Roma with a powerful shot narrowly wide, but it was a false dawn for the visitors, who soon found themselves three goals down in the space of eight first-half minutes as United seized control of the tie.
Michael Carrick opened the scoring after 11 minutes, taking a pass from Ronaldo and curling a shot past Doni. Within six minutes it was 2-0, Gabriel Heinze and Ryan Giggs combining before the Welsh winger picked out Alan Smith, who finished in style to record his first goal for United since November 2005. Then Wayne Rooney completed a superb move that opened up Roma's right flank, timing his run just right to meet a Giggs cross and slide the ball home.
Philippe Mexes headed a David Pizarro free-kick wide as Roma tried to come to terms with United's ruthless verve, but they were leaving themselves exposed at the back and Cristiano Ronaldo was in the mood to exploit it. Ronaldo made it 4-0 before half-time with a low shot into the bottom corner as Roma backed off, effectively inviting him to have a go.
The Portuguese star slid home a Giggs cross for number five, before Carrick let fly with a stunning shot to make it 6-0 on the hour, the Red Devils having shown no willingness to ease off the gas.
Roma halted the flow temporarily when Daniele De Rossi turned and shot deftly to restore a touch of pride, but Patrice Evra responded with a shot that stayed low to beat Doni. It was a thrilling performance by United, on of their most compelling in Europe. It brought them a remarkable 8-3 aggregate victory - their biggest in Europe since they thrashed Irish side Waterford en route to winning the 1968 European Cup - and a place in the semi-finals against Milan. That proved to be an altogether tougher Italian Job, which was scant consolation to humbled Roma.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Heinze, O'Shea (Evra 52), Ronaldo, Fletcher, Carrick (Richardson 73), Giggs (Solskjaer 61), Rooney, Smith.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Dong, Cathcart, Eagles.
Roma: Doni, Panucci, Mexes, Chivu, Cassetti, Wilhelmsson (Rosi 88), De Rossi (Faty 86), Vucinic, Pizarro, Mancini (Okaka Chuka 90), Totti.
Subs Not Used: Curci, Defendi, Ferrari, Taddei.
4. Inter 1- 5 Arsenal
San Siro, Milan, 25 November, 2003
Having beaten Arsenal 3-0 at Highbury in mid-September - when Julio Ricardo Cruz, Andy van der Meyde and Obafemi Martins all scored before the break and Thierry Henry had a penalty brilliantly saved by Francesco Toldo - nothing could have prepared Inter for the pace and panache with which the Gunners dismantled them in Milan two months later.
Indeed, even Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger remarked after the Gunners' super show at the San Siro, "Not in my wildest dreams could we have predicted that sort of result." His side had at last reproduced their Premier League form on the European stage to avenge the earlier defeat at Highbury with interest.
Henry was in inspired mood, and it was the Frenchman who swapped passes with Ashley Cole midway through the first half before picking his spot and side-footing the ball into the bottom corner. Yet the Nerazzurri levelled eight minutes later when Christian Vieri received a pass on the edge of the area and his first-time shot took a decisive deflection off Sol Campbell, looping over Jens Lehmann and in off the bar.
Undaunted, Arsenal hit back four minutes into the second half through Freddie Ljungberg, whom Henry found unmarked in the area with a left-wing cross, the Swedish midfielder turning the ball into the net from close range. Henry would have increased the lead had he not tried to square the ball to a team-mate with only Toldo to beat. Jens Lehmann saved a Fabio Cannavaro header and Andy van der Meyde sent a free-kick narrowly over the bar, but Arsenal clinically exposed growing gaps in the Inter defence.
Henry sprinted clear and beat Javier Zanetti before shooting beyond Toldo from a tight angle for the Gunners' third. Then Edu and Robert Pires added further goals as Inter committed men forward, to ensure an emphatic victory. Wenger's side moved above Inter in the group and were firmly on course for a place in the knockout phase. In fact they proceeded to the quarter-finals where they were beaten by fellow-Londoners Chelsea.
Inter Milan: Toldo, Cordoba, Javier Zanetti, Cannavaro (Pasquale 59), Materazzi, Brechet, Cristiano Zanetti, Lamouchi (Almeyda 57), Van der Meyde (Cruz 69), Martins, Vieri.
Subs not used: Fontana, Luciano, Adani, Gonzalez.
Arsenal: Lehmann, Cole, Campbell, Toure, Cygan, Ljungberg, Parlour, Edu, Pires, Kanu (Gilberto Silva 73), Henry (Aliadiere 89).
Subs not used: Stack, Keown, Clichy, Papadopulos, Hoyte (J).
5. AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (aet) - Liverpool win 3-2 on penalties
Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey, 25 May, 2005
Steven Gerrard-inspired Liverpool staged one of the most dramatic comebacks in European Cup history to claw back a three-goal deficit, win a penalty shoot-out and snatch the coveted trophy from Milan, who had appeared out of sight at half-time with a 3-0 lead and a comfortable gap in class.
Milan captain Paolo Maldini had given the Rossoneri a first-minute lead when when Andrea Pirlo's free-kick found him unmarked, and he swept the ball high into the net past Jerzy Dudek. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had surprisingly left Dietmar Hamann and Igor Biscan on the bench and started with Harry Kewell. The selection back-fired disastrously: Kewell had to limp off injured on 23 minutes, replaced by Vladimir Smicer, and on 39 Hernan Crespo doubled Milan's lead when he turned in a cross from Andriy Shevchenko. It got worse four minutes later when Milan added a third. The outstanding Kaka, played a brilliant pass that set Crespo free and the Argentine deftly chipped in over the onrushing Dudek.
It looked all over at the break, Liverpool having been thoroughly outplayed. Surely Milan, famed for a strong defence, were in an impregnable position. Liverpool's midfield had been overrun in the first half, but Benitez made a change, sending on Hamman for Steve Finnan, who had sustained a thigh injury. Dudek dived well to keep out a Shevchenko free-kick that would have made it 4-0. And then the comeback began.
Gerrard headed home John Arne Riise's cross after 53 minutes to give the Reds a lifeline. And incredibly, Dida fumbled Smicer's 25-yard effort into the net a minute later. The momentum was suddenly all with Liverpool, And their comeback was complete on the hour when Gennaro Gattuso brought down Gerrard in the box as he was about to pull the trigger for the equaliser. Dida saved Xabi Alonso's spot-kick, but the Basque midfielder followed up to net the rebound as the Milan defenders looked on disbelievingly.
Djimi Traore cleared off the line from Shevchenko after Dudek spilled a Crespo cross, and it went to extra-time. Milan dominated possession, but a sensational double save by Dudek from Shevchenko three minutes from the end ensured it would need a penalty shoot-out to find the winner.
Serginho and Pirlo failed with Milan's first two penalties, while Hamann and fellow-substitute Djibril Cisse scored theirs for Liverpool. Substitute Jon Dahl Tomasson scored for Milan and Riise missed for Liverpool. Kaka and Smicer duly scored, but Shevchenko's kick was saved by Dudek to clinch a stunning victory that had seemed impossible at half-time, but which had revealed great reserves of character and fighting spirit. Milan were broken; but Liverpool, lifting the Cup for the fifth time, had earned the right to keep the trophy at Anfield permanently.
AC Milan: Dida, Cafu, Maldini, Stam, Nesta, Gattuso (Rui Costa 112), Seedorf (Serginho 86), Pirlo, Kaka, Shevchenko, Crespo (Tomasson 85).
Subs Not Used: Abbiati, Kaladze, Costacurta, Dhorasoo.
Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan (Hamann 46), Traore, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Gerrard, Luis Garcia, Alonso, Kewell (Smicer 23), Baros (Cisse 85).
Subs Not Used: Carson, Josemi, Nunez, Biscan.