'Anfield will likely never again be so noisy'

Yahoo

03-05-2025

Twenty years since the ghost goal? Twenty years since referee Lubos Michel did Chelsea a massive favour, more like.
If he hadn't given the goal to Luis Garcia, and, in fairness, I have no idea if it crossed the line or not, then he'd have had to send off Petr Cech and award Liverpool a penalty, given the goalkeeper was also the last man and didn't play the ball.
So after five minutes, Liverpool would have got a penalty which Steven Gerrard would surely have scored against Carlo Cudicini [who'd have had to come on for Cech] - and Chelsea would have been down to 10 men for the rest of the game.
In 2005, there was no double jeopardy rule, so a penalty and a red card would have both been awarded.
If anything, Lubos Michel enhanced Chelsea's chances of winning by awarding that goal, although Jose Mourinho and their supporters conveniently forget this. You can't talk about whether it crossed the line or not without discussing the imminent red card and penalty had it not been given.
The atmosphere at Anfield that night was the best the ground has experienced in my entire lifetime. Fervent, manic, brilliant. It was back when fans still wore red unashamedly and touts hadn't sold on many tickets to high-bidding first-time supporters. Anfield will likely never again be so noisy given the change in modern football and the increased hospitality and ticket pricing. This is sad.
The biggest moment of the game, bar the goal, was Eidur Gudjohnsen's miss with the final kick. Somehow, the excellent finisher skewed wide when hitting the target was easier and Liverpool were on the way to Istanbul.
Many consider that Liverpool side a one-man team, but besides Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia formed one of the best central defensive partnerships in Europe at the time. This bedrock was what got Liverpool to the final, but I still don't know how we beat AC Milan from 3-0 down.
Find more from Jordan Chamberlain at Empire of the Kop