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Liverpool returns to final after beating Blues

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, left, keeps the ball from Chelsea's Claude Makelele during their Champions League second-leg semifinal at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England on Tuesday. Liverpool defeated the Blues 1-0 to reach the final. PHOTO: AP

Twenty years after the Heysel Stadium tragedy that shamed soccer, Liverpool has returned to the European Cup final, now called the Champions League.

Rafa Benitez' team edged newly crowned English champion Chelsea 1-0 in the semifinal on a night of more European drama at its intimidating Anfield stadium. After scoring an early Luis Garcia goal that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reckoned didn't cross the line, Liverpool went through 1-0 on aggregate.

The last time the club played in the final of European soccer's most prestigious club tournament, its rioting fans caused a stampede which led to the deaths of 39 people, mostly followers of opponent Juventus.

Chasing its fifth triumph but first in 21 years, the team likely will face Italian opposition. AC Milan goes into Wednesday's semifinal against Dutch club PSV Eindhoven with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg.

If it is to be an Italian club, reminders of Heysel will come back, especially since the final is only four days before the 20th anniversary.

Right now, the Liverpool players are celebrating just getting to the final after years of underachievement.

Jamie Carragher, who was the standout player against Chelsea, is a local-born player who recalls the great nights of European soccer at Anfield.

"This club has been built on that type of night and it's been taken away from us the last few years," he said.

"It's good to get back to those sort of nights. We're desperate to get back to those heights and we've got the chance to create a little bit of history."

A fifth Liverpool triumph will put the club third among European Cup champions behind nine-time titlist Real Madrid and Milan, which has six. Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich have four each like Liverpool.

Benitez, who led Valencia to a UEFA Cup final triumph last season before moving to Anfield, says his team doesn't fear Milan, which is aiming for its second triumph in three seasons.

"Now we need to wait to see the team that we play against," the Spaniard said.

"After that, why can't we win? If you play in the final, it's for winning, not for losing.

"After beating Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Chelsea, we can beat AC Milan or PSV. Why not?

"This has been a fantastic night for me and the club."

The noisy Liverpool fans let out a deafening roar when the players entered the game and, their team having scored early, never let up with their singing and chanting.

According to Mourinho, they even influenced the match officials.

"The Anfield Road experience. I felt it, it was magnificent," Mourinho said.

"But I felt that it did not interfere with my players but maybe it interfered with other people. It maybe interfered with the result."

Mourinho was convinced that his defender, William Gallas, cleared Luis Garcia's bounding shot off the line.

Slovak referee Lubos Michel gave the goal after a signal from linesman and countryman Roman Slysko, and Mourinho suggested they may have been intimidated by the fans.
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