Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti could win his fourth Champions League, but warns anything can happen. ‘The only Final I lost was the one with the best performance’ for Milan against Liverpool.
It kicks off on Saturday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT) at Parc des Princes in Paris.
Ancelotti spoke at a press conference this evening and looked back over his victories with Milan in 2002-03 and 2006-07, then Real Madrid in 2013-14.
The one that still stings, however, is Istanbul in 2005, when Milan had a 3-0 lead only to concede three goals in a six-minute spell and eventually lose on penalties.
“It is my fifth Final and I have good memories of all those games,” said Ancelotti.
“It’s rare if you think about it, but the only Final I lost was the one with the best performance in 2005. I am not asking my team to play badly, of course, but just warning them that anything can happen in a Final. We must be prepared for anything.”
It is no coincidence he calls it their best performance, as even after the comeback to draw 3-3, there were 20 shots on goal from the two sides and Milan had 14 of them.
In fact, after the Marcos Alonso equaliser, there were no other shots on target from inside the penalty area for Liverpool.
In total during the 90 minutes and extra time of that Final, Milan had 22 shots on goal.
With modern statistics, it is calculated the Rossoneri had an xG of 3.37 compared to just 1.38 for Liverpool.
Ancelotti and Milan gained revenge over Liverpool by beating them 2-1 in the Final in 2005, with a Pippo Inzaghi brace in Athens.
“In football there are some things you cannot control and we have prepared the best we can, but I can’t say it’ll be sufficient to win.”
The Italian tactician assured he has already decided his starting XI for tomorrow’s match, but would not tell the reporters what choices he had made.
— Alfredo Pedullà (@AlfredoPedulla) May 27, 2022