Posted at 12:08 p.m., Wednesday, May 23, 2007
AC Milan wins seventh European Cup soccer title
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece — AC Milan won the Champions League final today, defeating Liverpool 2-1 behind two goals by Filippo Inzaghi for its seventh European Cup title.Milan went ahead when Andrea Pirlo's 45th-minute free kick went through the wall and deflected off the side of Inzaghi and past goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Inzaghi made it 2-0 in the 82nd, taking a pass from Kaka in the center, spurting ahead and rolling the ball from an angle past the outstretched Reina.
Dirk Kuyt scored for Liverpool in the 89th, but the English team didn't have another good chance in the remaining regulation and three minutes of injury time.
Two years ago, AC Milan took a 3-0 halftime lead in the final. Liverpool, however, came back to tie and then won on penalty kicks.
AC Milan nearly was kicked out of this year's competition by European soccer's governing body but was allowed to remain and started in the third round of qualifying.
AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini appeared in his eighth European Cup final to match the record set by Real Madrid's Francisco Gento in the 1950s and '60s.
