Two years after the “Miracle of Istanbul”, Steven Gerrard was left to reflect on a “heartbreaking” Greek tragedy as Liverpool’s hopes of lifting the European Cup for a sixth time were ended by an AC Milan team whose thirst for revenge was sated amid tears of joy and despair at the Olympic Stadium.

This time there was to be no dramatic comeback for Liverpool, even if the prospect was raised in the 89th minute when Dirk Kuyt scored with a close-range header to provide a lifeline and leave the Italian side fretting through the final seconds. Milan went on to claim the Champions League victory that they were denied 24 months ago, with Filippo Inzaghi scoring both goals in a 2-1 win, the first a fortuitous deflection off his upper arm moments before half-time.

Liverpool had defied belief in Istanbul, winning on penalties having been 3-0 down at half-time, but this time there was to be no such climax. It will be scant consolation to their players that they performed far better than in 2005 and were arguably the superior team over 90 minutes. The difference was that this time the football gods smiled on Milan, whose seventh success in the competition puts them only two behind Real Madrid on European football’s roll of honour.

“My heart is in two pieces,” an exhausted Gerrard said. “It’s the lowest point of my career, the complete opposite of two years ago, but it’s how you bounce back from setbacks that counts. You have to take it on the chin, but at the moment it’s heartbreaking. We were in control, just as we like to be, but when you do that you need to score. They got the first goal with a bit of luck. We gave everything, but it wasn’t to be.”

Expert View

This was a pale imitation of the 2005 European Cup Final

Joe Lovejoy

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BACKGROUND

• View from the stands

• No way back for Liverpool

• Show clearly not for the benefit of Mr Kuyt

• Italian press quick to rub salt into the wound

• Right tactics but you need luck too

Multimedia

• European Cup Final 2007

• AC Milan v Liverpool clockwatch

Related Links

• Dreams lie in ruins for Liverpool

• Not even Gerrard can produce final miracle

• British embassy takes up Athens ticket fiasco

The captain and his team-mates looked on ruefully as the trophy was handed to Paolo Maldini, the 38-year-old defender who has become a European Cup winner for the fifth time, equalling the feat of the legendary Alfredo Di Stéfano and José María Zárraga, even if he remains one behind Francisco “Paco” Gento, who played in all six of Real’s triumphs in the early years of the competition.

Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, expressed pride in his team for their performance and attempted to make light of an incident at the final whistle, when he confronted the fourth official, Florian Meyer, for signalling only three minutes of added time and for the fact that the final whistle was blown 15 seconds before that period had elapsed, even though Milan had made a late substitution.

“I was really disappointed with two or three things, as everyone could see, but I don’t want to use these things as an excuse,” Benítez said. “I want to say congratulations to a very good Milan team and also to our supporters, my staff and my players, because I feel that they worked really hard and maybe deserved a bit more.”

Benítez talked afterwards of the need to make significant advances in the transfer market this summer — a message seemingly aimed at the club’s American owners, George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks — but two equally important signings will come in the next few days, with Gerrard and Jamie Carragher expected to sign new four-year contracts, which were all but finalised before the team flew to Athens on Monday.