What wouldn’t we have given to be 3-0 down at half-time. It would have been luxury, and provided the sort of fillip that a one-goal deficit — or, let’s face it, a one-goal lead — could never have provided. As it was, on a flat night in Athens, the half-time break had an ominous air.

Like Istanbul, the Liverpool fans sang You’ll Never Walk Alone, but the intensity levels were significantly lower than two years ago. The desperate craving, the 20-year search for redemption that had followed Heysel, gave the Atatürk stadium a piquancy that could not be equalled.

The build-up to this game, soured by questions over the ticket distribution, was different and could not match the feelings of 2005. Liverpool fans in Athens seem less wide-eyed than they were in Istanbul, more knowing and less frantic. The Olympic Stadium — another poor venue for a big final — did not rock like the Atatürk.

Again, Uefa got things wrong and a confrontation with Greek police did not help matters. Outside the ground, they put up barriers and shouted: “No more people. Ground full!” The hundreds of supporters who waved tickets in the air and surged forward testified to inefficiency. And, like police forces often do when they struggle to cope, out came the helmeted baton-wielders. Heads were cracked, both Milanese and Scouse.

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Background

• Luck runs out for Liverpool

• Dreams lie in ruins for Liverpool

• No way back for Liverpool

• How the teams rated

• Flood of forged tickets deepens fans' trauma

Multimedia

• European Cup Final 2007

• AC Milan v Liverpool clockwatch

Related Links

• Italian press quick to rub salt into the wound

• Show clearly not for the benefit of Mr Kuyt

At every checkpoint, the police fought to hold back legitimate ticket-holders. Then they suddenly retreated and let the entire crowd through without checks. It was madness masquerading as organisation. Thanks, Uefa. Once again, European football’s ruling body proved that it could not handle a game such as this. Next time the planners select a venue, they should look at its ability to cope with big crowds.

But Liverpool fans were phlegmatic about defeat. This was not the humiliation of the first half at the Atatürk, nor being beaten by a team punching above their weight. This was a loss in a big game to a real team, and both sides can walk away with pride. As the final whistle went, I sent a text message to a Mancunian friend. It said: “18:5”, a reference to Liverpool’s domestic titles and European Cup triumphs. And I’m no less proud that it couldn’t be six.

— Tony Evans is the author of Far Foreign Land: Pride and Passion the Liverpool Way.