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Liverpool has been accused of losing the 2007 Champions League final to AC Milan due to its overly exuberant celebrations after defeating the Italian team in 2005.
The Reds orchestrated the most remarkable comeback in European final history, overturning a 3-0 half-time deficit to draw 3-3 with Milan in Istanbul before triumphing in a penalty shootout. The two sides faced off once more in the Champions League final in Athens in 2007, but this time Milan emerged as the winner, 2-1, despite Liverpool being the superior side on the pitch.
Former Italy international and Milan defender Alessandro Nesta, who played in both matches, is of the opinion that the Serie A team had already won the second final before they even set foot in the stadium.
"We were a strong group of men," said Nesta on The BSMT podcast by Gianluca Gazzoli. "We came together, we set the goal, and we won.
"Against Liverpool, it was destiny again: they knew it too in 2007.
"Also because if you're a show-off when you win, sooner or later you'll have to pay the price: in fact, we hit them again, and they lost.
"When you win, you have to know how to win.
"From the bus, we won that match: you know when you feel it, they had been too show-offy."
The 2007 final marked Milan's seventh European Cup victory.
Milan hasn't reached the Champions League final since beating Liverpool in 2007, but the Italian team remains the second-most successful club in the history of the prestigious European tournament.
Milan won the European Cup in 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, and 2007; only Real Madrid (15) has won the Champions League more times.
The Serie A outfit also reached the final in 1958, 1993, 1995, and 2005.
Liverpool clinched its sixth European Cup in 2019, having previously won in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, and 2005. The Reds also reached the final in 1985, 2007, 2018, and 2022.
Bayern Munich is the only other team to have won the Champions League on six or more occasions.
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