Djibril Cisse recalls pressure in penalty shootouts of historic UCL final against AC Milan
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 05.07.26. | 20:43
The pressure moment did little in stopping the Frenchman from scoring from the spot on ome of the biggest football nights
Former Liverpool attacker Djibril Cisse has nostalgically opened up on the pressure as he stepped forward to take a penalty in the historic 2005 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan.
Dubbed as the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’, Liverpool produced a remarkable comeback, coming from 3 goals down at half time to draw 3-3 at full time, before securing a 3-2 win in the penalty shootouts to lift Europe’s biggest club tournament title.
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In the shootouts, AC Milan missed their first two kicks through Serginho,who shot over the bar, and Andrea Pirlo whose kick was saved while Liverpool's first kick was scored by Dietmar Hamann.
Charged with the responsibility of taking the English Premier League (EPL) side's second kick that would give them a huge advantage, Cisse in an exclusive interview with Mozzart Sport recalled walking to take his kick.
“Two AC Milan players had missed before me so I was more relaxed but still focused on putting the ball into the back of the net and helping my team to win the title. The end of the game was and still is something special,” said Cisse.
Cisse would score to give Liverpool a two-goal advantage.
While Milan scored their next two kicks courtesy of Jon Tomasson and Kaka, Andry Shevchenko’s miss condemned the Italian side to a loss with Liverpool not needing to take their fifth kick.
For Cisse, the season was more emotional and special as he had suffered a horrific foot injury, breaking both the tibia and fibula of his left leg.
While doctors estimated his recovery to take six to nine months, the former French International managed to recover after five and a half months and was on the bench for the big day in Istanbul six weeks later.
“I started the season well then I got an injury and had to fight for my life to be back because the team was doing well and reached the Champions League final."
Cisse went on to describe the match as the biggest European inter-club contest.
Lucky enough I managed to play for about one and a half months, before the final and had a chance to play in what, for me, is the greatest champions League final in history,” recalled Cisse.