Sport 26-05-2005 Homecoming Parade For Champions who: Liverpool what: Beat AC Milan on penalties in Champions` League final where: Istanbul when: Wednesday night snippet: "Liverpool`s victorious footballers are back on English soil," says Sky News on Thursday," as thousands of fans prepare to greet the team on a parade through the city this evening." "The team`s plane landed at John Lennon Airport at 1625 BST and their coach is taking them to Anfield before going on a two-hour open-top bus tour from 1830." Wednesday night`s "extraordinary" Champions` League final was decided by penalties, says The Telegraph, after Liverpool and AC Milan finished 3-3 (aet). But the scoreline belies the incredible comeback by the English club, who were out of contention at half-time as Milan ran riot. Hearts sank in Merseyside after less than a minute when Paolo Maldini put the Italians 1-0 ahead "and Hernan Crespo`s double gave Milan a seemingly unassailable lead," says the BBC. So how did Liverpool manage to reverse it? Three goals down after 43 minutes, Liverpool fans could hope for a consolation goal at best. And that goal came courtesy of a brilliantly struck header by Steven Gerrard in the 54th minute. Nobody would ever have believed that the Reds could score twice more in the next six minutes - first a low and powerful 20 yard strike from substitute Vladimir Smicer in what was almost certainly his last game for the club, then a penalty from Xabi Alonso, converted on the rebound after Nelson de Jesus Dida failed to hold on to it. And that`s how it stayed until the end of extra time, with Liverpool holding on despite a last-minute shot at victory by the Italians, seen off by Jerzy Dudek`s instinctive double save. Then came the penalties. "The previous time Liverpool won the European Cup, 21 years ago in Rome, Bruce Grobbelaar had staggered around the goalline like a drunk," remembers Matt Dickinson in The Times. "Dudek did not resort to tricks, but he did break all the rules by bounding yards forward for more than one of the spot-kicks." Right or wrong, his tactics worked. Claudio Serginho missed by a mile and Jerzy Dudek stopped two more shots to give Liverpool a historic victory. The icing on the cake for Liverpool fans was that skipper Steven Gerrard appeared to promise he would stay on at Anfield. "How can I think of leaving Liverpool after a night like this?" he told the press after the game, which did not finish until well after midnight in Istanbul. "The victory is all the more remarkable because Liverpool were within 10 minutes of being knocked out of this competition back in December, do not have the automatic right to defend their trophy next season - that will be decided by UEFA next month - and are by no means the best team in England," says Mihir Bose in The Telegraph. "The greatest sports story ever told? Probably not but for one wondrous evening, it felt that that way," says The Evening Standard. "If there`s been a more fantastic plot with a more romantic ending - one where the leading man Gerrard promises his true love he can`t forsake her - then trying telling that to the Red Army, who watched their men of destiny use this single game as a surreal metaphor for a club`s renaissance. For this really was the evening Liverpool came back from the dead." [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!