ATHENS — AC Milan exacted revenge for the nightmare of Istanbul two years ago but it took the Italians a little bit of luck allied with a slightly superior creativity to beat a dominant but uninspiring Liverpool in the Champions League final on Wednesday night for their seventh European Cup crown.
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| Paolo Maldini, captain of AC Milan, holds the Champions League trophy aloft at Olympic Stadium in Athens on Wednesday night. AP PHOTOS |
Two goals from Filippo Inzaghi, one fortuitous, one devastatingly simple, gave a 2-1 victory that was enough to banish memories of their second-half capitulation at the hands of the Reds in the 2005 final, despite the Milanese looking second best to their well-organized opponents for much of the game in front of 74,000 at Olympic Stadium.