“IN ISTANBUL... WE “WON IT FIVE TIMES”

Liverpool’s victory over Milan remains the most remarkable final in Champions League history – in the 20 years since, Steven Gerrard, Rafael Benitez and more key protagonists have recounted their memories to FFT...

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When Steven Gerrard's effort found the corner of the net, Liverpool were on the path to glory. Nine months before his famous looping header in Istanbul, it was the Merseysider who'd given the Reds the lead in their first Champions League fixture of the campaign - a third qualifying round tie against Grazer AK. The skipper fired home from 25 yards in Austria, then added another, as Rafael Benitez's first match as Liverpool boss ended in a 2-0 win.

Liverpool's road to Istanbul was far from straightforward - it needed yet another Stevie G intervention to secure a 3-1 victory over Olympiacos in the final game of the group stage, after the Reds had looked in danger of going out, requiring three second-half goals to save themselves. Sound familiar?

Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus were defeated in the knockout stages before a 1-0 semi-final triumph over Chelsea, achieved thanks to what was labelled by some as Luis Garcia's 'ghost goal'. Did the ball cross the line? He certainly believed so.

Gerrard, Benitez and Garcia have all given their memories of that campaign to FFT in the intervening years, as have Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso, Dietmar Hamann and penalty hero Jerzy Dudek. The Reds headed into the final against Milan as underdogs - on one of football's most incredible nights, they came from 3-0 down to achieve the impossible.

THE ROUTE TO THE FINAL

DUDEK When Rafa Benitez arrived in 2004, it was a revolution. Previously, in training we'd saved our energy for the games. Rafa told us, 'No guys, we have to start practising - if you work harder, you'll play harder in games'. We trained extremely hard - we spent loads of time in the weights room and on tactical analysis. Sometimes we had fitness sessions on the morning of the game.