champion of Europe

and Milan got the goals when they counted, even though John Arne Riise and Liverpool played a better game." hspace=0 src="http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/gabriele_marcotti/05/24/champions.final/p1_inzaghi_0524.jpg" width=300 border=0>ATHENS, Greece -- When Carlo Ancelotti walked out into the interviewing area after winning his second Champions League as AC Milan boss, he stopped for a minute, pursed his lips and scanned the assembled reporters, his eyes beginning to water ever so slightly.

Whatever your views on this sport, whatever you may think of Liverpool or Milan, it was impossible not to be happy for him.

"This is special for me, more special than Old Trafford in 2003 [when Milan beat Juventus in the final]," he said. "Back in November, many believed our main priority was going to be avoiding relegation and some wanted me out of a job. I'm proud of the way we reacted and the way the second half of our season went. And then, of course, after what happened in Istanbul, it does feel a bit as if things have been balanced out."

Two years ago, of course, Milan blew a 3-0 halftime lead against Liverpool, allowing Rafa Benítez's men to pull even and then snatch the European Cup in a penalty shootout. That followed a game which Milan utterly dominated, except for those seven crazy minutes in the second half when the Reds scored three times. On Wednesday night, it was Liverpool who arguably had the upper hand for most of the 90 minutes -- but it was Milan who got the rub of the green.

"It wasn't a great game and we did not play particularly well," Ancelotti said. "But we took our chances when they came and maybe rode our luck a little. That's football. Sometimes you play great and lose, other times you play less well and win."

In fact, Milan didn't just play "less well" -- this was probably the Rossoneri's worst performance in the knockout phase of the Champions League. Credit has to go to Benítez, who won the tactical battle in the first half as resoundingly as Ancelotti had in the first 45 minutes in Istanbul.

Benítez lined up with just one forward, Dirk Kuyt, with Steven Gerrard in support. Jermaine Pennant and Bolo Zenden were deployed wide in an effort to stretch Milan's narrow midfield and stifle the attacking runs of the Rossoneri fullbacks. And the tandem of Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, sitting in front of the back four, were charged with winning the ball and "caging" Kaká.

It worked perfectly. The Brazilian struggled to find space, the usually steady Andrea Pirlo lost way too many balls and Rino Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini were pulled wide too often, leaving gaps for Gerrard in the middle.

All of Liverpool's control of the midfield, however, yielded just two clear-cut chances, one for Pennant (which Dida brilliantly saved) and one for Gerrard (following a mistake by Ambrosini) which the Liverpool skipper fluffed. That may well explain why, after the game, Benítez chalked up the difference between the two sides to one word: quality.

When you break down the Champions League semifinalists individually, Liverpool is, man for man, the weakest of the four. Benítez may be good at making his team greater than the sum of its parts, but, in games like this, having top-notch cogs in your machine does make a difference.