In 2005 Milan gave the Reds a first half footballing lesson, and had the better of the later stages, but ended up humiliated. Two years later they were easily second best for the first 44 minutes, and barely created any chances all night, but clearly their luck had changed.

Had Dirk Kuyt's goal-bound first half shot not been deflected away by the kind of interception Liverpool relied on two years ago then things could have been so different. An inch or two and the game swings Liverpool's way.

Instead it was Pirlo's average free kick that deflected off Inzaghi's upper arm that made all the difference. An inch or two to the left and it misses the striker for an easy save. The ball never ran the Reds' way. Take Dida's parry from Pennant's shot as just one example.

Then there was the ref's refusal to give Gattuso the second yellow he deserved. It clearly wasn't going to be Liverpool's night.

However, over the two finals one win each strikes me as pretty fair. And while Milan banished their memories of two years ago, they cannot damage ours; the songs are just one reminder. The cup on permanent display is another. Five times is still the third best tally in European history.

Maybe too much history was made that glorious Turkish night; my fear before this game was that Milan would fluke a victory now that Liverpool have improved, and so it proved. That's an unwritten football rule. It's known as Sod's Law.

That's not to say Milan's quality wasn't apparent with some of their possession, but the game hinged on the jammiest deflection. It allowed them to dictate the tempo of the second half but still they rarely troubled Reina.

It's times like these that I'm most proud to be a Liverpool fan. Being adjacent to the travelling Kop I was reminded yet again of the power it possesses and the bond that exists between the crowd, the players and the manager.

Anyone would have thought Liverpool had won, such was the noise even 30 minutes after the game had ended. No other club has fans this gracious in defeat or inspiring in adversity.

After the final whistle, when another miraculous comeback had been denied by the referee's premature whistle, the masses of Reds stayed to applaud Milan and show their appreciation to Rafa and the boys.

Milan's players were shocked much later in the night when, having milked the applause of their fans, and finally ready to head in, they realised the remaining few thousand Liverpool fans were still applauding them. They came over for more appreciation, and will have left aware of how special our fans can be. It was a great moment.

Exerpt from Paul Tomkins