10 Greatest British Performances In Champions League History

1. Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan AET 2004/05 Final

Or was it? I think not! We are of course talking about the 2005 final: 'The Miracle of Istanbul'. It didn't seem likely at various points of the season, most notably as they approached the 89th minute of their Matchday 6 encounter with Olympiakos at Anfield. They needed to win by two clear goals; they were winning by one. Then, Steven Gerraed, captain fantastic, struck a thunderbolt from the edge of the area which rocketed in the roof of the net sending the home fans- and Andy Gray- nuts. From then on, they were possessed and their subsequent momentum ploughed them past Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea (with a little help from the officials). However which way they managed to get to the final, they were there and looking to win Europe's premier competition for the first time in 21 years. It didn't start at all well against AC Milan though, as their 37-year old captain Paolo Maldini drilled in from the box with only 40 seconds on the clock. Ex-Chelsea star Hernan Crespo then clinically finished twice before the half's end to leave the Reds' hopes in tatters. But for Mr Gerrard sticking his nose (and head) in everyone's business then this may have been true, but his header in the 54th minute ignited the spark of hope and got them on the scoresheet. By the hour mark, they were on terms thanks to Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso, who scored the rebound to his own penalty, and the dream was back on. That dream was preserved by Polish keeper Jerzy Dudek who saved magnificently from Andriy Shevchenko twice in a goalless extra time. So, to penalties and the Polish keeper turned dancer proved the ultimate distraction for Milan as Serginho blazed over the bar and Pirlo's effort was saved. By the time they had managed to score, Liverpool were already 2-0 up in the shootout through conversions from Dietmarr Hamann and Djibril Cissé. However, John Arne Riise saw his effort saved before Kaka and Smicer took theirs and scored leaving it all up to the Ukranian Shevchenko. He had scored the decisive spot-kick in their 2003 win over Juventus, but failed to repeat the trick as dancing Dudek got his hand to the ball and that was that. Liverpool had won. What British performance lives long in the memory for you? And who do you see performing best in this season's competition? Feel free to comment.