AC Milan grabbed an undeserved place in the Champions League final on Wednesday as they lost 3-1 to PSV Eindhoven in their semifinal second-leg clash.
However, Massimo Ambrosini's injury-time goal gave the Italians an invaluable away goal and even though Phillip Cocu replied immediately to make it 3-1, the visitors won out on the away-goal rule as the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.
AC Milan will meet English side Liverpool in the mouthwatering May 25 final in Istanbul.
PHOTO: AP
The outstanding Marc van Bommel said it was a shame the best side had not gone through.
"It is disappointing. We deserved to win because we were the best team," said van Bommel, who looks set to leave at the end of the season for Barcelona.
"However they scored an away goal. It's a pity we didn't go through but unfortunately we allowed them to score their three goals in the dying seconds of three of the four halves of the clash. We were hit by a sucker punch [Ambrosini's goal]. We had a little bit of bad luck today," he said.
Ambrosini understandably was ecstatic as he clutched the match ball.
"I'm taking the ball home with me," said the 27-year-old midfielder. "We suffered. They played very well, but we were able to limit the damage. We could have gone out here, but with that goal it turned out well," he said.
Milan's Dutch central defender Jaap Stam paid credit to the players from one of his former clubs.
"PSV dominated the match and played very well but anything is possible in football. We had one chance and we took it," the former Manchester United defender said.
However, Stam said that AC Milan would have to really step up to the plate against Liverpool, who put Chelsea out on Tuesday.
PSV looked to be at least forcing extra time as they dominated the visitors for all the match -- as they had done largely in the first leg -- and goals by dynamic Korean Park Ji-sung and Cocu levelled the tie.
AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti bore a worried look in the sixth minute as his vastly experienced captain Paolo Maldini put in a typically brave header as Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink went for a bicycle kick five meters out and ended up being kicked in the head by the Dutchman.
The veteran -- who will be appearing in his seventh Champions League final -- lay prone on the turf before being taken off for treatment and then returned to the fray a couple of minutes later.
However he had barely been back on the pitch before PSV had reduced the deficit on aggregate as Park scored a great goal in the ninth minute, passing the ball to Vennegoor off Hesselink before the latter got the better of Stam and 24-year-old Park was on hand to crash the ball past Dida into the net.
AC Milan had to wait for 25 minutes before they even had a shot at goal and Clarence Seedorf's effort was way wide of the mark with the Dutchman holding his hand up to his team mates in abject apology.
PSV coach Guus Hiddink was off the bench a minute later as Vennegoor off Hesselink rose to meet van Bommel's free kick, only for the 26-year-old to see his header scrape the bar with Dida beaten.
PSV central defender Alex produced a selfless piece of defending as he threw his body in front of Kaka's goalbound effort to clear the danger.
The impressive Lucius was next to force Dida into a save as his vicious swerving low shot came through a morass of players but the Brazilian keeper got down to save.
PSV started the second half in fiery fashion as first van Bommel's shot drifted wide of the post and then Park miskicked with the goal at his mercy after a delightful step-over by van Bommel on the edge of the area.
PSV were saved at the other end when Lucius covered back from his right-back slot to slide tackle Andrei Shevchenko as he was played in by Kaka and Heurelho Gomes gathered the ball safely.
However justice was done when PSV went 2-0 up and level on aggregate in the 65th minute as Cocu arrived to head home at the far post from a brilliant cross by Park's Korean team-mate Lee Young-pyo, who had outstripped Brazilian World-Cup winning fullback Cafu down the left flank.
Ambrosini should have taken it out of PSV's grasp with 10 minutes remaining as unmarked he had a free header from a corner but it was parried by Gomes and hacked clear.
Ambrosini, though, made no mistake in injury-time as, again unmarked, he met Kaka's cross but his header should have been turned away by Gomes, who instead helped it into the net.
Cocu made sure the Italians could not rest easy as almost immediately he scored with a superb volley after Vennegoor off Hesselink had won the ball and headed it on but while he gave the scoreline on the night a realistic touch, the damage had been done.
Newcastle gets win
Newcastle inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Fulham on Wednesday to end their miserable seven-game run in the Premiership without a win.
Injury, disciplinary problems and poor form have taken their toll with Graeme Souness' men plummeting down the table, but this emphatic win at Craven Cottage will have lightened the mood at St James' Park and lifted the Magpies up two places into 12th.
Their worst ever Premiership finish was 13th on 44 points in 1997-1998 under Kenny Dalglish.
They took full advantage of some dismal defending from Fulham with Darren Ambrose, Patrick Kluivert and Shola Ameobi on target before Tomasz Radzinski cut the deficit in the closing minutes.
With Alan Shearer given the night off, Souness opted to pair Ameobi with Kluivert up front but it was Ambrose who set the visitors on their way to victory in the 18th minute.
The midfielder made the most of a mistake by Alain Goma to foil Edwin van der Sar when he latched onto a header from James Milner to shoot right-footed from the penalty spot.
Fulham went close to an equalizer when former Newcastle player Lee Clark's header inched over the bar -- their best opportunity of the night.
Kluivert, for whom this was a first league game since Boxing Day, put Newcastle further in control just after the hour mark, the Dutch striker pouncing on a Charles N'Zogbia-taken corner from the right.
Milner was at the heart of Newcastle's third when his inswinging corner in the 75th minute was headed in to the top right of the net by Ameobi lurking by the far post.
Radzinski then got a late consolation, running onto Liam Rosenior's pass to slot the ball past Shay Given with four minutes to go.
This was not the way Fulham would have wanted to mark their 150th Premiership game and it left the west Londoners on 38 points, one place behind Newcastle.
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