As the second most-won team in Champions League history (seven times), AC Milan are returning to the Champions League this season after an eight-year hiatus. Although the Rossoneri have soared in Serie A, tied for first place with Napoli with 32 points, they have come to the edge of the cliff after a long time in the Champions League battlefield.
At present, the first four rounds of the Champions League group stage are over, and the Rossoneri are difficult to win, with 1 draw and 3 losses at the bottom of the group. Tomorrow morning Beijing time, they will visit the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to challenge the strong rival Atletico Madrid. They must win and Porto win against Liverpool (locking up the first place in the group early) in order to retain their qualifying hopes until the last round.
Since the 2003-04 Champions League was changed to the current format, Milan have never folded in the group stage as long as they have qualified. Now, they are likely to create the worst record since the Champions League reform.
In a pre-match press conference, manager Pioli also said that this was their last chance, "It was an important game, the opponent is a great team and also represents our last chance to stay in the Champions League." We believe we can compete with them, just as we did in the first leg. ”
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. With the passage of time, today's Rossoneri have long since lost their courage, but they still cannot erase the classic moments they brought in the history of the Champions League. Before the life-and-death battle with Atletico, let's look back at Milan's famous scenes in the Champions League.
In the 2002–03 Champions League final four, Serie A teams won three places. Milan first eliminated city rivals Inter Milan in the semi-finals with an away goal advantage. In the final against another Serie A team, Juventus, the two teams fought for 120 minutes to win or lose, and the last Ukrainian nuclear warhead Shevchenko to score a penalty in the penalty shootout, Milan once again won the top of Europe after 9 years.
At the post-match award ceremony, captain Maldini lifted the trophy, and it was his father Maldini Sr. 40 years ago who also lifted the first Champions League title in Milan's history as captain.
The 2003–04 season was the "coldest" Champions League in history, and Defending Champions Milan was not spared. The Rossoneri made it all the way to the quarter-finals relatively smoothly, facing the turn-of-the-century "Super Lacco", who won 4-1 in the first leg, looking like they had already stepped into the semi-finals with one foot.
However, the second leg was a surprise, and "Super Lacco" scored four goals in a row at his own Devil's home stadium, completing an almost impossible revenge battle, pulling the Rossoneri back from heaven to hell, a match destined to go on the annals of Champions League history.
It's time for the fans to be familiar with the whiplash link... But when it comes to the reversal scene in the history of football, the name of Istanbul Night will never be missing on the list, which can be called the greatest miracle in history.
The 2004-05 season for Milan was a day in the sky, they went all the way to the final, and in front of them was Liverpool, who stumbled all the way. By the end of the first half of the final, Milan had taken a 3-0 lead. It was reported that the Milan players celebrated with champagne after the half.
However, the situation changed dramatically in the second half, with 54 minutes 0-3, 60 minutes 3-3, and the Reds equalized in just 6 minutes. In the final penalty shootout, Reds goalkeeper Ichifu Dudek refused a penalty to help the Reds lift the Champions League trophy for the fifth time in their history.
"If you haven't seen a miracle before, then you can call the Night of Istanbul a miracle."
Two years later, Milan and Liverpool met again in the Champions League final. But this time at the Olympic Sports Center in Athens, the Rossoneri completed their revenge.
Compared to the drama of the night in Istanbul, this confrontation did not make too much waves. The 33-year-old veteran Inzaghi scored twice to complete his pinnacle and help the Rossoneri win the Champions League for the seventh time. At that time, the average age of the Rossoneri starting lineup set an all-time high in the Champions League final: 31 years and 34 days. But this is also the last glory of the Rossoneri in the Champions League.
Life is full of ups and downs. The key is to enjoy at the top and courage at the bottom. After the wind and rain, the flowers bloom and the sunshine remains. I believe that at some point in the future, we can see the Rossoneri corps reinventing its glory.