Full time: Milan 4-0 Barcelona
Look, let’s not get carried away: this was only the greatest performance in a European final since 1960, perhaps ever. Boring Boring Milan were devastating in attack, and took an excellent Barcelona side to the cleaners. Goodness knows what score it would have been had Milan not declared when Marcel Desailly made it 4-0 after an hour.
You never get a second chance to make a last impression. Milan’s 1993-94 season, for so long a strange mix of success and criticism, will now be remembered for this glorious exhibition. Goodnight!
Updated
89 min Panucci is booked for kicking the ball away. Hmm.
85 min Savicevic almost makes it 5-0! Donadoni scurried away from Bakero on the left, another lovely run, before cutting the ball back to Savicevic at the far post. He swept his shot just wide with Zubizaretta scrambling across his line.
83 min Maldini is still struggling. He limps off to be replaced by Stefano Nava. It looks like an impact injury rather than anything too serious, so at this stage I wouldn’t be too worried about his World Cup prospects. Maldini, in a fairly unfamiliar role as the spare centre back, was majestic.
81 min A good cross from Amor towards Bakero hits the shoulder of the leaping Albertini and goes behind for a corner. Most of the Barcelona players are still attacking with purpose and intent. It’s only really without the ball that they have been sulking.
80 min There have been so many immense performances for Milan tonight. I’d make Desailly the Man of the Match, a nose ahead of Savicevic. It shouldn’t be possible, in a European Cup final, to dominate a midfield like Desailly has tonight.
79 min There’s a break in play while Maldini receives treatment. He’s in quite a lot of pain, with both hands on his head. Somewhere in the world, Arrigo Sacchi is screaming for Fabio Capello to take Maldini off. He’s going to continue, but he’s moving gingerly.
Updated
76 min “Well played Mr Don!” cries Barry Davies after an excellent advantage from the English referee. He’s had a terrific game, as has Philip Don.
74 min Stoichkov, cutting infield from the left, waves a quite stunning pass with the outside of the foot towards Romario. It beats three Milan defenders but not the last man Galli, who comes across and runs the ball to safety.
72 min Quique Estebaranz comes on to replace Sergi, who was destined to leave the field one way or another.
72 min A frustrated Sergi tries to trip Boban, who ignores him and carries on. Sergi has already been booked and could have gone for that. Then there are more olés as Desailly walks away from Bakero and Stoichkov with disdain. The humiliation is all too much for Barcelona, who have shipped four goals and plenty of dignity; moments later Guardiola eases his studs into Desailly’s calf.
69 min “I’m worried, Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “It’s the Scottish Cup final on Saturday, and I think Dundee United could be the Barcelona to Rangers’ Milan. Rangers didn’t win any of their final five league games but still won the league with a bit to spare, and are going for a second consecutive domestic treble. United have never won the Scottish Cup, and have lost four of the last nine finals. But hey, you never know in football ...”
I’d like to apologise in advance for the pain you will experience on Saturday. I’ve seen Biff Tannen’s Almanac, and Rangers are going to walk it.
67 min The intensity has dropped, understandably enough, since Desailly’s goal. There’s a quarter of the match to go, but everyone knows it’s over.
65 min Ferrer, who has been booked, is penalised for an ultra-cynical foul on Tassotti. Philip Don could reasonably have sent off two or three Barcelona players in the last 10 minutes.
Updated
64 min A good attack from Barcelona ends with Eusebio drifting an inviting ball across the face of goal.
Updated
64 min Desailly dispossesses Romario, who tries to trip him and fails. Then Ferrer has a go - and also fails. Desailly, with admirable support from Albertini, has totally dominated the midfield.
Updated
63 min Amor is again lucky not to be booked, this time for a wild hack at Donadoni. He has lost it since that tackle from Panucci a few minutes ago.
62 min Barcelona’s collective noggin has gone. Amor is lucky not to be booked – at the very least – for planting his studs down the back of Desailly’s leg. Then, with Desailly receiving treatment, Romario complains that Milan are timewasting. They’re 4-0 up mate.
61 min Guardiola is lucky not to be booked for a sly shirt pull on the breaking Savicevic.
60 min Amor is hopping around after a very strong man-and-ball challenge from Panucci. No foul was given, and we haven’t seen a replay, but there were no complaints form any other Barcelona players.
GOAL! Milan 4-0 Barcelona (Desailly 59)
Who cares: it’s 4-0 now! Just 13 seconds after Savicevic’s chance, Marcel Desailly caps a magnificent performance with a quite storming goal!
When Savicevic hit the post, Nadal gave the loose ball to Eusebio on the right wing. He clipped it infield towards Amor and Guardiola, but Desailly nipped in between them to win the ball. Albertini then took it off Desailly, almost tripping him up in the process. But Desailly kept running and Albertini slipped the ball back to him with a neat pass. Desailly charged straight through a static Barcelona defence, opened his body and curled an empathic shot into the far corner. It’s another magnificent goal!
Capello’s hands are still in his pockets but this time there is a hint of a smile as he is smothered by his coaching team. Milan have been utterly awesome, and that goal sums up Desailly’s rampant midfield performance.
59 min: Savicevic hits the post! That was so close to 4-0! Albertini’s excellent quick free-kick cleared the backpedalling Sergi, who lost the flight of the ball, and was deftly controlled on the run by Savicevic. He dinked the ball over the diving Zubizaretta but it bounced off the inside of the near post.
58 min Another yellow card! That’s four in five minutes, but it’s hard to argue with any of them. The latest one was for a pullback by Ferrer on Savicevic.
57 min A pitiful long-range shot from Sergi goes well wide. Capello is not happy, however; he springs up and gives his defence a brollocking for sitting too deep.
56 min Three in three minutes! Yellow cards, that is. Milan play themselves out of the trouble with some lovely, confident passing. Desailly then moves imperiously past Sergi, who bundles him over and is booked.
55 min And now Nadal is booked for a grotesque and probably retaliatory foul on Savicevic. He basically ran him over, and Savicevic went miles in the air. Nadal lived up to his nickname of The Beast with that challenge. Sadly, he’s having an absolute beast: he was badly at fault for the first and third goals and could have been sent off for that.
54 min Albertini is booked for a cynical foul on the breaking Bakero. No self-respecting Italian midfielder would have let Bakero go there, 3-0 lead or no 3-0 lead.
53 min Romario tries to play a one-two with Bakero, but Galli heads the return ball away. What a lovely story it is – the perennial reserve who was whistled up in an emergency to mark the world’s deadliest striker. So far he has been flawless.
52 min A break in play allows Cruyff to wave his finger at the referee, presumably about the third goal.
Updated
52 min Barcelona make their first change: Eusebio replaces the anonymous Txiki Begiristain. I doubt the real Eusebio could pull this round, Frank.
49 min Barcelona’s captain Bakero fouls Desailly and is then booked for dissent. Barcelona’s players look thoroughly hacked off.
49 min Liam Brady makes the point that many European referees would have penalised Savicevic for a high foot, but in England that challenge is more common. I don’t think there was much wrong with it really.
49 min As good as Milan’s attacking has been, that was another defensive shocker from Barcelona. Nadal lost the ball unnecessarily and then tried to trip Savicevic with an instinctive kick. He couldn’t even manage that.
SENSATIONAL GOAL! Milan 3-0 Barcelona (Savicevic 48)
AC Milan are champions of Europe for the fifth time! The marvellous Dejan Savicevic has sealed victory – already – with an incredible goal!
It came from yet another defensive mistake by Barcelona. Albertini, on the halfway line, overhit a lobbed pass in the vague direction of Savicevic on the right wing. The ball ran through to Nadal, who gawped at it as it bounced a couple of times, trying to decide what to do.
By the time he made up his mind it was too late. Savicevic blocked his attempted clearance and then, from the right edge of the penalty area, sidefooted an outrageous lob that dipped over the leaping Zubizaretta and dropped into the far corner of the net!
Barcelona are complaining that Savicevic’s foot was high when he won the ball off Nadal. Maybe, maybe not. But the accuracy and arc of Savicevic’s lob, from a narrow angle and with Zubizaretta no more than three yards off his line at the near post, were out of this world. He had no right to score from there. He had no right to shoot from there.
Updated
47 min “May I join Jonathan Ginzburg in making bold predictions?” says Peter Oh. “England will win USA 94!”
46 min Barcelona begin the second half. No changes on either side.
“Brilliant performance by Milan,” says Gordon. “Much the better side. Savicevic, Donadoni, Boban so skilful. And a rock-solid defence. Barce surprisingly unable to change their tactics to counter.”
Johan Cruyff doesn’t really believe in a plan B, does he?
“On this pleasant spring day of May 1994 I’m visiting Tbilisi to participate in a spring school on Logic and Linguistics,” says Jonathan Ginzburg. “My hosts have taken me to a cinema packed to the brim to watch the game live. As the only two foreigners in the cinema, local tv interview my fellow guest (a Barcelona-hating Catalan) and me. They ask us for predictions: 3-2 Milan, with Van Basten scoring the winner. They look at us with (deserved) disdain.”
The half-time interval gives the BBC a chance to show highlights of England’s 5-0 win over Greece last night. The new coach Terry Venables, in the studio, looks relaxed and happy with life.
Jimmy Hill still hasn’t forgotten the miseries of 1993, however: he reminds us all that Ronald Koeman probably cost England a place in the World Cup and then says that, on tonight’s performance, “He wouldn’t get in a third division side”. Let it go, Jim, it’s over.
Half time: Milan 2-0 Barcelona
With the possible exception of Fabio Capello, anyone who says they saw this coming is a liar. Milan have been spectacularly good, far more attacking than everyone expected, and deserve to lead 2-0.
GOAL! Milan 2-0 Barcelona (Massaro 45+3)
Milan double their lead with a glorious team goal! All Johan Cruyff’s pre-match comments about Milan have come back to haunt him in one sensational goal, the sort that Holland 74 – or Barcelona 94 – would have been proud to call their own.
Milan kept the ball for almost a minute before Boban swept a pass out to Donadoni on the left. He slipped delightfully away from Ferrer’s tackle, moved into the area and flicked a nonchalant pass back towards the edge of the area towards the unmarked Massaro. He watched the ball onto his left foot and slammed a blistering first-time shot into the far corner. What a goal!
I think Zubizaretta got a slight touch but he was beaten for power. Capello again celebrates by not celebrating, walking round with his hands in pockets. Internally, he’ll be doing cartwheels. Everything about that goal was immaculate: the patient build-up, the run and pass from Donadoni, and most of all the technique, power and precision of Massaro.
Updated
45+2 min A long spell of possession for Milan gives their fans the opportunity to belt out a few lusty olés. They probably can’t believe how well this is going. The scoreline, maybe; the performance, no chance. The move eventually comes to nothing, with Panucci’s deflected cross looping through to Zubizaretta.
45+1 min Romario loses the ball to Maldini and responds with a petulant trip. He might have been booked for that.
44 min Sergi cuts infield and lofts a pass towards Amor on the edge of the area. Like so many Barcelona passes tonight, it’s intercepted by Desailly. He’s been immense – and not just without the ball. He and Albertini have launched the majority of Milan’s counter-attacks with smart, penetrative passes.
42 min Barcelona have not been great tonight, but the two Romario chances have been classic examples of their ability to open teams up with a sudden change of pace.
41 min: So close from Romario! That was much more like it from Barcelona. Their three midfield players, Guardiola, Bakero and finally Amor, sliced Milan open with three simple passes down the centre of the pitch.
Amor played an excellent ball down the side of Maldini, and Romario exploded into life with an angled run and snapshot that flew just wide. Replays show that it took a crucial nick off the stretching Filippo Galli; otherwise it would have gone in the bottom corner.
41 min Bakero, trying to volley the ball out to Ferrer on the right wing, instead shanks it 30 yards back towards his own goal. It’s been that sort of half for Barcelona.
39 min Massaro runs onto a bouncing ball, just outside the D, and wallops it into orbit. That half-chance came from more dodgy Barcelona defending.
38 min This is a decent little spell for Barcelona, who are dominating possession for the first time in the game. They still look a bag of nerves in defence, mind you.
35 min And they do make something happen. Stoichkov clips a speculative ball across the face of the penalty area that reaches Begiristain on the other side. He moves onto his left foot and drives a crisp low shot that is comfortably held by Rossi.
34 min Stoichkov and Begiristain have switched wings in an attempt to make something happen.
33 min The resulting free-kick, 35 yards out, is hammered low towards goal by Albertini. It hits his team-mate Massaro just inside the area and spins up to Donadoni, who adjusts his feet and hits a fierce snap volley that is well held to his right by the tumbling Zubizaretta. Milan are so much sharper than Barcelona, who look a bit shocked by the tactical aggression of their opponents.
32 min Another beautiful piece of play from Savicevic. He receives a pass from Desailly with his back to goal, turns smoothly past Sergi and then slithers away from Amor and Nadal. Eventually he is shoved over by a frustrated Nadal. Those sinuous, elegant runs make Savicevic a joy to watch: he never seems to break into a sprint, instead beating his man through sleight of hip and a velvet touch.
Updated
30 min Ferrer commits a silly foul on the lively Donadoni. Barcelona’s back four have looked harassed throughout the first half hour.
28 min This is the size of Barcelona’s task: Milan have kept 34 clean sheets this season. I know they are without Baresi and Costacurta but Maldini and Galli have been excellent so far. As if to prove the point, Galli stretches around Romario to make a fine tackle.
27 min Sergi tries to play a give-and-go with Bakero. Tassotti plays his not-on-my-watch card, brazenly dragging Sergi back. He’s booked.
25 min A good response from Barcelona. Koeman curls a penetrative pass down the right wing towards Stoichkov, who slips Maldini and moves into the area at frankly terrifying speed. Rossi charges from his line to grab the ball just in front of Stoichkov, who leaves a foot in and is booked.
Rossi probably exaggerated the contact, but Stoichkov’s leg did brush his face. At least I think it did. Liam Brady, the co-commentator on BBC1, is less sure. “He hasn’t touched Rossi! He’s put his foot out and Rossi’s made a meal of it. Rossi’s always at this act, and it’s not right.”
23 min If Savicevic did mean that pass – and the more I see it, the more I reckon he did – it was a touch of genius to stun it into the ground so that it bounced over Koeman, because there was no other way to get the ball to Massaro.
GOAL! Milan 1-0 Barcelona (Massaro 22)
Daniele Massaro, who missed so many opportunities in last year’s final, has given Milan a deserved lead! Rossi punted a huge goalkick into the night sky that fell towards Nadal. He controlled the ball on his left breast – an action that sorts the men from the boys when a leather ball is dropping out of the sky – and then lobbed a header towards Sergi. But it was a poor one that allowed Boban to nip in and acrobatically stab the loose ball towards Savicevic on the right.
He controlled the ball delicately, flicked it over Nadal’s lazy tackle in the same movement and moved ominously into the area. Guardiola got back but a touch of subtle brilliance from Savicevic allowed him to put his body between Guardiola and the ball. Zubizaretta then came out to meet Savicevic, who declined the obvious shot and lifted the ball across the six-yard box, over Koeman, with his right foot. Massaro, unmarked at the far post, stretched to steer a volley into the empty net.
It was an unusual pass from Savicevic, and the BBC commentators aren’t sure whether he meant it. As he was falling over he stunned the ball the ground so that it bounced over the head of Koeman. Had a lesser player done it, I would be confident it was a fluke. Savicevic is a genius, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.
The Milan players and bench are going mad, with one exception. Capello, his hands still in his pockets, purses his lips and sits back down. His body language all night has suggested he might have one or two private thoughts about Johan Cruyff’s pre-match comments, not to mention the stick Milan have received all season.
Updated
22 min “I wish we’d had Laudrup v Laudrup,” says Danica Christensen. “Would have been a blast! The three-foreigner rule could be removed for finals so that we can see a real game.”
21 min Desailly plays a good pass forward to Albertini, who flicks an even better one over the defence towards Savicevic. Ferrer does well to stay with him and concede a corner.
20 min: Magnificent defending from Maldini! That time Barcelona did go through the eye of the needle after a hypnotic passing move: Sergi, Amor, Romario, Bakero, Amor again, Romario again. Finally Romario flicked a sudden through pass between Maldini and Galli – who were barely inches apart – to put Amor clear.
He got to the ball first, just inside the area, but Maldini showed remarkable cceleration and strength to make up the ground, struggle with Amor and finally block his shot at the expense of a corner.
It should have been a goalkick, in fact: replays showed Maldini got to the ball first and kicked it against Amor, who was already in the act of shooting.
20 min Donadoni’s big inswinging corner from the left is headed wide by the stretching Desailly. In fact Desailly did well to even reach the ball as it swerved wickedly at the last minute.
17 min Bakero stabs a neat pass round the corner to Amor. He tries to slide it through for Romario but overhits the pass. So far Milan have been very effective in restricting Barcelona’s ability to pass through the eye of a needle.
15 min A poor ball out of defence by Koeman is intercepted by Albertini. The ball runs to Savicevic, and suddenly Milan are two on two. But Savicevic picks the wrong option, trying to wriggle past Nadal and losing the ball. Massaro, who was in an excellent position to his left, waves his arms in frustration. It was another promising attack from Milan, who have already won the ball in dangerous areas on a number of occasions.
14 min: Fine effort from Massaro! Albertini fades a pass out to the young full-back Panucci on the left. He runs at Ferrer and stabs a cross to the edge of the area, where Massaro flips the ball up in the air, turns and slams a volley that is held by Zubizaretta. It was beautifully struck but too close to the keeper. This is great stuff so far, everything we hoped it would be.
13 min Guardiola is starting to see more of the ball, which is an encouraging sign for Barcelona. He’s the player who makes them tick, and he was probably their best player in the semi-final win over Porto.
12 min European Cup finals are traditionally stinkers – 13 of the last 16 have finished 0-0 or 1-0 - but this has started superbly.
11 min: Chance for Romario! Out of nothing, Barcelona show how dangerous they are. Guardiola, the deep-lying playmaker, drives a brilliant diagonal ball over Panucci to find Stoichkov on the right wing. He lobs a first-time cross towards the penalty spot, where Romario mishits a volley that bobbles well wide. That was a devastatingly incisive attack from Barcelona, who went from the centre circle to a good chance in just two touches.
10 min: PANUCCI HAS A GOAL DISALLOWED FOR OFFSIDE! Boban’s inswinging free-kick from the left was headed straight back to him by Guardiola. He lobbed it back into the area, where Panucci arrived late to head decisively past Zubizaretta. The flag was up before the ball hit the net – but replays showed that Massaro was the only player in an offside position.
Panucci was being played onside by seven Barcelona players, so the linesman must have decided Massaro was seeking to gain an advantage. I think that’s the correct decision in accordance with the laws of the game, even if this particular law is a bit of an ass.
Updated
9 min Donadoni twists away from Amor and plays a nice one-two with Massaro, forcing Ferrer to make an important sliding tackle on the left edge of the area. The resulting throw-in is taken to Savicevic, who loses Koeman with an exquisite variation on the Cruyff turn, using the studs rather than the inside of the foot to drag the ball in the opposite direction. Koeman tugs at his shirt and Philip Don gives a free-kick to Milan, very close to the left corner of the penalty area.
8 min Sergi plays a nervous pass straight to Tassotti on the edge of the Barcelona area. Tassotti’s cross is too deep but this has been a confident, positive start from Milan. Barcelona also look lively going forward; the early signs are that this could be a classic.
Updated
7 min Stoichkov, who is playing from the right wing as expected, comes inside onto his left foot and whistles a shot wide from 30 yards. Rossi had it well covered, but administers a brollocking to his defence nonetheless. He’s right: the last thing any sane defender should do it show Stoichkov inside from the right.
7 min There’s a belting atmosphere, with both sets of fans making a rare old noise. Everything about this game feels like football for grown-ups.
6 min Boban flicks an insouciant pass with the outside of the boot to find Savicevic on the right wing. He lures Nadal into a lunging tackle and then flicks the ball over him, a delicious piece of skill that leaves Barcelona seriously exposed. Savicevic then tries to take on Sergi, who stays on his feet and makes a fine tackle on the edge of the area.
5 min This match has started at a really lively pace, with Milan springing forward on the counter-attack every time they win the ball.
4 min Desailly, who was in the Marseille team that beat Milan in last year’s final, does very well to win the ball off Bakero and then bulldoze through a 50-50 with Amor. His mobility and aggression in midfield will be vital if Milan are to avoid being passed to death.
3 min Nadal needs treatment after an accidental collision with Massaro. He took an elbow to the ribs as they jumped for a high ball.
1 min Peep peep! Milan kick off from left to right. On the BBC, Barry Davies - and what a player it is to have him doing a major final - informs us that both starting XIs include seven players who have already won this tournament: Milan in 1989 and 1990, Barcelona in 1992.
There are no dugouts at the Olympic Stadium, so the coaching staff are all sitting on steel folding chairs on the running track. Capello looks stern, Cruyff a little restless.
The players emerge from the tunnel. It’s a humid night in Athens - kick off is 9.15pm local time - and both sets of supporters are in splendid voice.
Updated
Milan have one other big player missing tonight: their shirt sponsor, Motta. Such vulgarity is prohibited in European Cup finals, so Milan are wearing a specially designed kit, an homage to the white strip that was worn when they first won the trophy in 1963.
Barcelona can wear their usual red-and-blue stripes because they don’t have a shirt sponsor anyway. Some things are more important than money.
Updated
Team news
Zvonimir Boban is fit, so both teams are as expected. Paolo Maldini will move across from left-back to centre-back alongside the old stalwart Filippo Galli, who had hardly started a game in the last two seasons and now has to deal with Romario. Fabio Capello had the option of moving Marcel Desailly back into defence, but presumably wants him to put out fires in midfield.
Christian Panucci, the promising young right-back, will switch to left-back to replace Maldini - and play against Hristo Stoichkov. Good luck with that.
Barcelona have picked the same XI that hammered Bobby Robson’s Porto 3-0 at the Camp Nou in the semi-final.
Milan (4-1-3-2) Rossi; Tassotti, Galli, Maldini, Panucci; Desailly; Boban, Albertini, Donadoni; Savicevic, Massaro.
Substitutes: Ielpo, Nava, Carbone, Lentini, Simone.
Barcelona (4-1-2-3) Zubizaretta; Ferrer, Koeman, Nadal, Sergi; Guardiola; Amor, Bakero; Stoichkov, Romario, Begiristain.
Substitutes: Juan Carlos, Busquets, Eusebio, Estebaranz, Goikoetxea.
Updated
The pre-match thoughts of Johan Cruyff
“It’s always good for football if an attacking team wins,” he said earlier in the week. “A lot of people copy the winners. If we can prove that an offensive, technical team wins against a running team, that has to be good for football. We impose our game on the opposition, moving the ball quickly and forcing the game. Milan base theirs on physical strength and defensive organisation.
“In my opinion, the real AC Milan was [Arrigo] Sacchi’s side. They won just as much as [Fabio] Capello’s team, but the difference was the exciting, dramatic way they played, attacking constantly. It was Sacchi’s side which gave Milan the prestige which they are enjoying today. As a spectator, I prefer the Milan of a few years ago. But as a coach I prefer this team because they have won more titles.”
There will be an English referee tonight. Philip Don, 42, was called up at the last minute when Uefa stood down the original choice, John Blankenstein of the Netherlands. Blankenstein received a number of death threats after negative media coverage in Italy.
Most people assume it’s because he shares a nationality with the Barcelona pair of Johan Cruyff and Ronald Koeman. Blankenstein is convinced it’s because he is openly gay.
Updated
Preamble
As if this game needs a preamble! Milan and Barcelona, Europe’s two best teams, are about to meet in the Champions League final in Athens. It’s the world’s best defence against the world’s best attack - or it would be if Milan were not without their suspended centre-backs Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta. That, and the recent form of both teams, means that most pundits have an increasingly strong fancy for Barcelona tonight.
Milan have had a strange old season. For the third year in a row they won Serie A at a canter, a heck of an achievement in Europe’s strongest league. No team had won three in a row since the immortal Torino side of the 1940s. But they did a lot of it in binary – exactly half their league games finished 0-0 or 1-0 to Milan, and their level of popularity in Italy makes George Graham’s Arsenal seem like England’s darlings by comparison.
Boring Boring Milan scored only 36 goals in 34 games, conceding 15. Yet they still won the title so easily that they could sleepwalk over the line. They failed to win any of their last six games and finished the domestic season with an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at home to Reggiana.
By contrast, Barcelona produced a blistering run of form to break the hearts of all connected with Deportivo La Coruna. Johan Cruyff’s team will still be high on Saturday’s astonishing title victory: it was their fourth in a row, a club record, and was sealed when that tame last-minute penalty from Deportivo’s Miroslav Djukic was saved by Valencia’s Santiago Canizares.
That 6-3 walloping at Real Zaragoza in mid-February was a blessing in a very humiliating disguise. Since then, Barcelona’s record in La Liga and the European Cup is P20 W17 D3 L0 F59 Awho cares how many concede when you score that many.
Milan’s lack of goals is partly down to the sad absence of Marco van Basten, who hasn’t played since the European Cup final defeat to Marseille a year ago. Stefano Eranio is also injured, while there are doubts about Zvonimir Boban; if he is unfit, Brian Laudrup will take his place on the right wing.
The other Laudrup, Barcelona’s Danish genius Michael, misses out because of the three-foreigner rule, as does Milan’s Jean-Pierre Papin. A lot of attacking talent will be on the sidelines tonight. But it’s the absence of two defenders that could prove decisive.
Kick off: 7.15pm BST on 18 May 1994, and on 13 May 2020
Updated
