2005-05-05 - 3:25 p.m.
��Before, I said that they were maybe the best supporters in England. Now they are the best supporters in Europe��, Rafa Benetiz on Liverpool fans.
��It's very strange. It was a goal from the moon or the Anfield Road stand, I don't know where.�� Jose Mourinho on the goal.
��Liverpool's fans set a world record of 131 decibels for the loudest crowd noise at the Carling Cup final in February. When Luis Garcia scored in the fourth minute against Chelsea, fans in the Kop end reached 119.8 decibels.�� BBC on Anfield.
��I don't think the ball crossed the line but even if it was a refereeing error we still had 85 minutes to win the match. We lost our heads a little bit and that's something we've been strong at all season but it just wasn't our night��, Gallas on why he did not protest after the suspicious goal.
��When I arrived here last summer I was intent on winning some trophies, but I do not expect to get to the Champions League final in my first season in England. For us to get to the final is beyond all our dreams, and for me to score the goal is a special moment too ,�� Louis Garcia on his expectation to the final.
��What an absolute legend, I'm confident we would have conceded three if it wasn't for him, he is an absolutely brilliant player,�� a Liverpool fans on Carragher.
When asked about a possible move elsewhere, Carragher said simply: ��I'd never do that.��
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Luis Garcia fired Liverpool past Chelsea and into the European Cup final for the first time in 20 years.
BBC News 4 May 2005
They led inside four minutes when Milan Baros beat Petr Cech to the ball and Luis Garcia tapped in, despite Chelsea claiming it did not cross the line.
Liverpool's defence did the rest as they withstood everything Chelsea's ineffective attack could throw at them.
Chelsea's best chance came deep into injury time but Eidur Gudjohnsen thrashed a volley just wide.
After drawing 0-0 in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool knew they needed a goal, but even they could not have envisaged doing it so early.
John Arne Riise started the move by cutting in from the left and finding Steven Gerrard, who played a first-time flick with the inside of his right foot.
The pass fell perfectly for Baros, who knocked it over the onrushing Cech and went down under the challenge from his international team-mate.
Luis Garcia was left to add the finishing touch, despite William Gallas' attempts to clear off the line.
Blues manager Jose Mourinho would later claim it had not crossed the line, but with television replays inconclusive, any argument was academic.
Reds boss Rafael Benitez was unwilling to say whether he thought the ball had gone in.
Not that the Spaniard had to - by then he knew he had added another glorious chapter to his new club's rich history books.
After that goal the expected Chelsea onslaught never materialised, with the newly-crowned Premiership champions enjoying the bulk of possession but surprisingly devoid of any sort of attacking invention.
Chelsea threatened only once in the first 45 minutes when Frank Lampard dispossessed Luis Garcia and fed Joe Cole, who lobbed over Jerzy Dudek but also wide of the mark.
The second half started in similar fashion, with Gudjohnsen shooting high and wide from 35 yards as Chelsea's efforts became desperate.
Lampard finally called Dudek into action with a powerfully-struck free-kick that the Polish keeper got down well to palm away for a corner.
Mourinho responded by bringing on Marteja Kezman for Tiago and introducing Arjen Robben for the disappointing Cole.
Robben threatened an equaliser that would have sent Chelsea through on 74 minutes, but his shot from inside the box was blocked by the outstanding Jamie Carragher.
Moments later he shot over as the Blues finally showed signs of life.
With seven minutes to go Robben found space on the left to fire in a dangerous cross that neither Drogba nor Kezman could get on the end of.
The late drama was heightened when the fourth official indicated six minutes of injury time.
Djibril Cisse could have made the game safe when he broke free but was denied a second goal by Cech.
With over 95 minutes on the clock Chelsea's best chance of the game fell to Gudjohnsen after Dudek had came to punch and failed to clear, but he volleyed wide from close range.
Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Hamann (Kewell 72), Biscan, Luis Garcia (Nunez 84), Riise, Gerrard, Baros (Cisse 59).
Subs Not Used: Carson, Smicer, Warnock, Welsh.
Booked: Baros.
Goals: Luis Garcia 4.
Chelsea: Cech, Geremi (Huth 76), Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Tiago (Kezman 68), Makelele, Lampard, Cole (Robben 68), Drogba, Gudjohnsen.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais.
Agg (1-0)
Att: 42,529.
Ref: Lubos Michel (Slovakia).
Liverpool
Jerzy Dudek - 7: Fabulous save from Lampard's fizzing free-kick, not really tested thereafter.
Steve Finnan - 7: Limited his forward runs to a minimum so he could concentrate on defending, which he did superbly.
Djimi Traore - 8: Another hugely impressive display from the left-back, made some stunning blocks and was first to every ball that came his way.
Jamie Carragher - 9: (STAR MAN): Threw his body in the way of everything, another massive display from the local lad.
Sami Hyypia - 7: Again proved his worth to the side, hammered the ball as far as he could when it went near. Terrific player to have under pressure.
Steven Gerrard - 6: Fabulous flick to set up the opener but afterwards was overrun as Chelsea dominated possession.
Dietmar Hamann - 6: First start for six weeks and looked ring rusty, but made sure he made his share of tackles.
John-Arne Riise - 7: Little time on the ball as Chelsea pressed but kept it well at the end as they were hanging on.
Igor Biscan - 6: Stood his ground as Chelsea launched wave after wave of attack but gave the ball away too often.
Luis Garcia - 7: Scored the goal that put Liverpool in the Champions League final. What more could you want?
Milan Baros - 6: Proved a handful ploughing a lone furrow up front despite being starved of possession after the Reds' early goal.
Substitutes
Djibril Cisse (Replaced Baros, 60 minutes) - 6: Went close with two efforts at the end and held on to the ball intelligently.
Harry Kewell (Replaced Hamann, 73 minutes) - 6: Gave them an extra attacking dimension as they tried to close out the game.
Antonio Nunez (Replaced Garcia, 84 minutes) - 6: Had little time to make an impact.
Chelsea
Petr Cech - 6: Found himself in no man's land for the Liverpool goal and had little else to do.
Geremi - 6: A solid performance, he tried to get forward as often as possible but was let down by lack of support.
William Gallas - 6: Did more attacking than defending as the Blues piled forward, but a left-winger he is not and struggled with his crossing.
John Terry - 7: Not much defending to do but was the catalyst for a host of attacks and was a steady presence.
Ricardo Carvalho - 5: A nervy performance from the usually cool Portuguese, made some rash tackles and was not accurate with his passing either.
Tiago - 6: Got into some good positions going forward but looked tired as the match progressed.
Claude Makelele - 7: Kept the ball moving quickly from side to side and never stopped probing for an equaliser.
Frank Lampard - 6: Quieter than usual, one stinging free-kick went close but could not find a way through.
Joe Cole - 5: Looked out of sorts on the left-hand side, lacking his usual spark of recent months.
Didier Drogba - 4: Started poorly, his touch let him down on a regular basis and it never looked like the goal Chelsea needed would come from him..
Eidur Gudjohnsen - 7: Was at the hub of all of Chelsea's attacking momentum, his movement and touch were terrific and a last-gasp shot whistled wide.
Substitutes
Mateja Kezman (Replaced Tiago, 68 minutes) - 5: His touch was as bad as Drogba's, never looked like being the answer.
Arjen Robben (Replaced Cole, 68 minutes) - 6: Immediately provided another headache and went close twice in a minute but is nowhere near match fit.
Robert Huth (Replaced Geremi, 76 minutes) - 5: Another Champions League semi-final, another substitution involving Huth that failed to work.
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