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Story behind iconic 2005 Champions League photo as Milan derby descended into chaos
The Champions League quarter-final clash between AC Milan and Inter Milan in April 2005 descended into chaos after goalkeeper Dida was hit by a flare

Most remember the 2004-05 Champions League campaign for it's memorable final, when Liverpool recovered from 3-0 down at half-time to beat AC Milan in Istanbul.

Yet that wasn't Milan's only eventful European game that season. On April 12, Carlo Ancelotti's side faced local rivals Internazionale at the San Siro in the second leg of their quarter-final clash. Milan won the first leg 2-0 and were confident of repeating the feat.

After all, they were probably the best team in Europe at the time. Milan were blessed with the talents of Dida, Paolo Maldini, Cafu, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso, Andriy Shevchenko and Hernan Crespo. How Liverpool overcame that fabulous side in Istanbul remains a mystery.

It's always a huge affair when two teams from the same country - let alone the same city - meet in Europe. Local clubs are kept apart until the quarter-final stage. By that point, there are just a handful of games left in the season and both teams are bursting with momentum and desire - making those big European nights all the more intense.

And Inter would've been desperate to stop Milan from succeeding, as they hadn't won the Scudetto since 1988-89. During that time, Milan had lifted six Serie A titles - including the most recent one - and three European Cups. Inter were living in their shadow.

Despite this, the underdogs failed to stop Milan in the second leg. Shevchenko opened the scoring after 30 minutes - handing the eventual runners-up a priceless away goal - and Inter needed four goals in the second half to overturn the deficit. Not even Liverpool's comeback would be as good as that.

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