The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and AC Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005.

Liverpool finished second in their group behind 2004 runners-up Monaco and subsequently beat Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea to progress to the final.

[9] The Football Association supported Liverpool, stating, "We have already submitted a written request to have an additional place, should they win the Champions League".

There were reservations about holding the final in Turkey but UEFA chief executive, Lars-Christer Olsson was satisfied by the assurances of the Turkish authorities: "The conditions there are the same, generally, as for all countries and they have given guarantees, this is important, especially since their experiences last autumn.

They won their group ahead of Barcelona and faced Manchester United, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven before reaching the final.

In Liverpool's final group stage match against Olympiacos on 8 December, Steven Gerrard scored a 25-yard half volley in the 86th minute to send the club through to the knockout round.

His assistant referees were Oscar Martínez Samaniego and Clemente Ayete Plou, and the fourth official was Arturo Daudén Ibáñez.

Mejuto González was only the third Spanish referee to officiate a European Cup final, following Manuel Díaz Vega in 1996 and José María Ortiz de Mendíbil in 1969.

[27] Liverpool fielded a 4–4–1–1 formation, with the surprise inclusion in the squad being Harry Kewell, who played just behind Milan Baroš, who himself had been picked ahead of Djibril Cissé.

The inclusion of Kewell meant Dietmar Hamann was left on the substitutes' bench and Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard started in the centre of midfield.

Milan fielded a 4–4–2 diamond formation, with Hernán Crespo preferred to Jon Dahl Tomasson and Filippo Inzaghi, who was not included in the match day squad.

Liverpool lined up in their red home kit, whilst Milan wore a changed strip of all white, which they historically used in European Cup finals.

[28][29] Milan scored within the first minute of the match after captain Paolo Maldini volleyed in an Andrea Pirlo free kick that had been conceded by Djimi Traoré.

[29] Liverpool responded almost immediately; John Arne Riise, who was picked out by a corner kick from Steven Gerrard, hit a volley from the edge of the penalty box.

Shevchenko had another chance to score a few minutes later; after being played onside by Traore, his shot was saved by Dudek after he came under pressure from the Liverpool defence.

[30] Liverpool had the best chance early on with Xabi Alonso sending an effort from 35 yards (32 m) narrowly past Milan's right hand post.

Three minutes after Šmicer's goal, Liverpool were awarded a penalty, after Gerrard made a run into the Milan box for Baros' lay-off and was brought down by Gennaro Gattuso.

About ten minutes later García could not control a pass from Gerrard which led to a Milan attack, Crespo played the ball back to Kaka, whose subsequent shot was blocked by Jamie Carragher.

[35] He hit his penalty straight down the middle of the goal and Dudek went down to his right, but blocked the shot with his left hand to give Liverpool a 3–2 win in the shoot-out.

Liverpool's triumph marked their fifth European Cup and the first by an English team since Manchester United had defeated Bayern Munich in the 1999 final in Barcelona.

They were cheered by approximately 1 million supporters, with an estimated 300,000 fans located around St George's Hall – the final destination of the parade.

[41] Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez admitted after the match that the manner of his side's victory had stunned him and he stated: "My problem is that I don't have words to express the things that I feel at this moment".

[42] Praise for Liverpool also came from outside England, including from Argentine legend Diego Maradona, who said, "Even the Brazil team that won the 1970 World Cup could not have staged a comeback with Milan leading 3–0...The English club proved that miracles really do exist.

"[43] Benítez was also prepared to break up his winning side after the final with a number of players expected to leave the club to make way for new arrivals.

Captain Paolo Maldini was less optimistic, stating that the reverse was a "huge disappointment", but he added that Milan would accept the defeat and "go out with their heads high".

"[45] Media reports then quoted Gerrard as saying he wished to leave Liverpool, citing events that had occurred in the month after the Champions League victory as the reason.

Liverpool beat Deportivo Saprissa 3–0 in the semi-final, and played Copa Libertadores champions São Paulo in the final, losing 1–0.

Orchestrated by the determination of Steven Gerrard, the tactical cunning of Rafa Benítez and the support of the fans who demanded that each player perform with pride in the shirt, these six minutes showed you should never give up.

"Remember Istanbul".In a 2011 poll conducted by UEFA.com, Dudek's double save from Shevchenko in the 117th minute was voted the greatest Champions League moment of all time, ahead of Zinedine Zidane's left-footed volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 final and Ole Gunnar Solskjær's injury-time winner against Bayern Munich in 1999 for Manchester United.

"[33] When asked to explain his saves after the game, an emotional Dudek said he took inspiration from Pope John Paul II (a fellow Pole and goalkeeper in his youth) who died in April, the month before the final.