ac milan lead 2-0 in aggregate after the first leg win in san siro, even though psv was the better side in that game. luck? lack of it, rather. no away goal for PSV, so they're at a disadvantage.
then second leg comes around at the philips stadion, where one of the best game, and one of the biggest upset in the football world came about.
here's some of the highlight of the game:
5th minute: PSV attack - jefferson farfan nodded a header to jan vennegoor of hesselink, who then scissor kicked it goalbound. dida was nowhere to be found, but maldini was quick on his feet to jump and throw a head to block the ball. maldini's head was bleeding and he had to receive some treatment off the pitch.
9th minute: PSV attack - a one-two pass from ji-sung park to vennegoor of hesselink allowed the korean striker to cut through and, upon receiving a through ball from vennegoor of hesselink, hit it first time into the roof of the net. 1-0 PSV.
26th minute: PSV attack - freekick for PSV on the left wing. mark van bommel curled it in and vennegoor of hesselink escaped his marker to send a direct header goalbound, from eight yards out, only for the crossbar to deny him. lack of luck.
38th minute: PSV attack - mark van bommel again set up a swinging ball into the area and wilfred bouma sent the ball goalbound with a header, but the ball bounced off the ground and over the bar. close, but not quite.
40th minute: MILAN attack - marcos cafu sent a low cross back to ricardo kaka, who then hit the brazilian winger's cross first time goalbound. wilfred bouma pulled a maldini this time by throwing his body in front of the ball to block it. probably a lot better idea than to throw a head.
HALFTIME: PSV lead 1-0. milan shouldn't be too disappointed at this time since they hadn't really played well, and PSV shouldn't be too disappointed either since they managed to keep up an attacking form. captain paolo maldini is taken off for kakha kaladze. the blow from heading the ball clear in the 5th minute must have been more severe than it was thought. carlo ancelotti wouldn't have done so otherwise; his faith in cesare maldini's son is never ending. maldini has been playing for milan since he was 16, and is now 36. that, is loyalty at its best. no wonder ancelotti has so much faith in him.
52nd minute: PSV attack - freekick after cafu brought a man down. van bommel curled in a cross and the milan defenders headed the ball away. the half-clearance fell to bouma who volleyed it goalbound, only for the ball to get blocked by milan players who were crowding the six-yard box.
64th minute: PSV attack - young-pyo lee beat cafu down the left and sent a sensational cross to phillip cocu, who buried the ball in the back of the net with a low header. 2-0 PSV. they got the two goals they needed to push milan back to extra time, provided they don't let milan score an away goal.
76th minute: PSV attack - jefferson farfan surprised milan with a shot from a tight angle. dida had to stretch to his left to palm the ball away.
79th minute: MILAN attack - massimo ambrosini got away from his marker, and sent a header straight towards gomes who palmed it away. milan realized they need a goal if they want to make it to the final.
80th minute: HERE'S WHY THE GAME IS GREAT - cafu committed a foul on the right. three PSV players collapsed due to exhaustion. it was obvious that they'd sacrifice their life on this game. milan players looked tired too, but the game must go on.
89th minute: TRAGEDY BEGAN - ricardo kaka stormed down the left and sent a lovely cross to ambrosini, who headed the ball past huerelho gomes. 2-1 milan, they are leading with an away goal. PSV now needs two to make it to the final.
90th minute: PSV attack - they need a goal. no, they need TWO goals to make it through due to away goal rule. two minutes of stoppage time, and they got their first. vennegoor of hesselink flicked a long ball to cocu and he blasted it first time past dida. 3-1 PSV. pretty impressive streak for PSV, considering the milan's clean sheet record throughout the competition.
91st minute: PSV attack - park tried to break through milan's defense, but stam took the ball away from him at the most crucial time.
92nd minute: final whistle. a tragic final whistle. after 89 minutes of playing with all their heart and soul, ambrosini had to come in and ruin their night. most ironically, PSV had been the better side during both legs of the semifinal. tragic, tragic, tragic.
ancelotti was right when he said during post-match interview that his team "was really, really lucky." even manchester united vs bayern munich in 1999 was not even this upsetting, because the two were playing at the same level. milan was totally outclassed that night.
look at that: 17-9 shot ratio, 5-2 shot on goal ratio, 57-43 possession.
the upset in chelsea-liverpool, however, was NOT an upset. liverpool has obviously been the better side throughout the two games. this is verified by a poll in soccernet.com, which have never been so one sided.
and check out their match stats
12 shot attempts, but only 1 on goal. how the hell could mourinho claim that they're the better team? they were just lousy bastards who don't know how to aim shots that night. and liverpool, considering how they're the underdogs, made a more impressive performance by producing a flawless defense that contained chelsea's attacks.
i think i might ditch a class to go watch the champions' league final. PSV vs liverpool would have been a better match, but milan vs liverpool can't be a bad game.
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