Graphic: Bill Edgar's tactical analysis

Rafael BenÍtez got the first half as right last night as he got it wrong two years ago. AC Milan were outsmarted, simple as that. How ironic that Milan were worse than they were in Istanbul and Liverpool so much better.

It’s just that luck can be such a huge factor. There’s pure dumb luck, such as Milan’s first goal. Then there’s making your own luck - and that’s where Liverpool fell short.

There were not enough bodies in the penalty box to make the most of Liverpool’s dominance, to snap up a loose ball, punish a lucky break. That was because BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, chose not to play Peter Crouch up front with Dirk Kuyt.

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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

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• European Cup Final 2007

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• How the teams rated

I wonder if Crouch felt insulted. As a former striker, I would have in the same circumstances. Crouch, an England forward, left out in favour of a midfield player. Not just anyone, of course - it was Steven Gerrard.

Fears that BenÍtez would adopt a defensive game plan seemed justified when the teamsheets came out and showed that Kuyt was the only striker. In theory, yes, but in practice it was two up front because Gerrard played as a centre forward. There were times when he was more advanced than the Dutchman.

The aim was presumably to use Gerrard’s running power to pull Milan’s centre backs out of position, and it worked reasonably well, though Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini are too experienced to let themselves be tricked. It was obvious, though, that Gerrard had the legs on them and he had space in the final third of the pitch. Another tribute to the Liverpool captain’s versatility: put him at right back, right wing, centre midfield or in attack and he impresses.

But why not play Gerrard, Crouch and Kuyt? What do you lose? BenÍtez could have asked his captain to play a more disciplined role. Kuyt was asked to do what Crouch does - hold the ball up and win aerial battles. But he’s not as good at that as Crouch.

It defeated the point of using two wingers. Time and again, the crosses went in but there were not enough red shirts to aim at. In the Barclays Premiership, Liverpool have one of the best crosses-to-goals ratios. With Kuyt, Gerrard and Crouch on the pitch, finally, Liverpool had a headed chance and scored. Too late.

It was frustrating because Milan were a huge disappointment. It was shocking to see them play so poorly when they were so devastating for three quarters of the semi-final against Manchester United.

Kuyt, Gerrard and the rest snapped at Milan’s legs and they hated it. The Italians are uncomfortable when they are under pressure. They can’t find any fluency. Time and again, weak clearances were gobbled up to underline that Liverpool were the more athletic and powerful side, even though Milan’s second goal came after Jamie Carragher seemed to run out of gas.

Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso sat deep, giving their more attacking teammates licence to attack, which they could do with confidence because Mascherano was solid, playing with his head as well as his heart and looking far more experienced than he is.

The decision to play Jermaine Pennant paid off richly because it revealed Milan to be vulnerable on their left. On the other side, if Boudewijn Zenden - replaced by Harry Kewell - had Pennant’s pace, he would have carried a similar threat.

Milan’s awesome midfield were subdued, especially in the first period. They didn’t see much of the ball and when they did they were in the middle third, a long way from goal. They were not advanced enough to hurt their opponents. Gennaro Gattuso simply charged around the pitch, fouling recklessly.

It’s a shame that Alonso isn’t a better tackler, as his poor challenge gave away the free kick for Inzaghi’s lucky goal. Conceding that free kick was just about the only cardinal sin Liverpool committed.

For all the good fortune of that deflected goal, Milan are so menacing when they have time on the ball that when they are within 25 yards of goal, it’s better to let them run and try to block the shot than to risk bringing them down. In defence of Alonso, Milan are masters at winning free kicks.

Despite the blow of going behind, Liverpool should have been upbeat at half-time and should have smelt blood - Milan were there for the beating. If Crouch had played from the start, or come on soon after the break instead of for the last few minutes - when any losing team is panicked into abandoning its tactics in favour of route-one football - it might have been different.