Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Liverpool's 2005 Champions League triumph may not have stood under current regulations
LIVERPOOL dramatically battled back to defeat AC Milan on penalties in the 2005 Champions League final.
Liverpool train ahead of Champions League Final
Liverpool's 2005 Champions League triumph in Istanbul has gone down in history as one of the club's greatest ever nights, but under the current laws of the game, the result wouldn't have stood. That's because the shootout saves of penalty hero Jerzy Dudek were highly suspect.
Having battled back from three goals down to take the European showpiece to extra-time and beyond against AC Milan, Liverpool then emerged victorious on spot-kicks. Reds stopper Dudek soaked up the plaudits as he spectacularly saved two of Milan's five efforts from the spot to see his side claim the continental crown with a 3-2 shootout win.
However, it may well have been a different story had today's rules applied to the penalty process. Law 14 of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) rulebook, which was amended back in August of 2019, now states that a "goalkeeper must have one of his/her feet partly on the goalline (or above it if jumping) when the kick is taken".
A quick review of Liverpool's shootout is all that is required to see Dudek clearly did not abide by such regulations back in 2005. Firstly, the Polish stopper shuffled off his line for Milan's opening spot-kick which Serginho subsequently blazed over.
READ MORE: Chelsea boss Tuchel urged to re-sign defender who 'man-marked Mo Salah out of a game'
After Didi Hamann converted his effort to put Liverpool in front, Dudek denied Milan's midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo down low to his right. However, there can be no disputing the illegality of his second save, which saw the Reds stopper take three sizeable steps off his line before scuppering Pirlo.
Jon Dahl Tomasson and Kaka were successful with Milan's next two spot-kicks while Liverpool converted two of their next three as Djibril Cisse and Vladimir Smicer netted either side of Dida's denial of John Arne Riise. All that meant if Andriy Shevchenko failed to score, Liverpool would be crowned European champions for a fifth time.
DON'T MISS
Man Utd 'could submit first Nkunku bid next week' with agent talks underway[GOSSIP]
Cristiano Ronaldo 'missing farewell meal' speaks volumes about Man Utd star[OPINION]
Liverpool 'have dream transfer for 2023' after Tchouameni's private declaration[TRANSFERS]
And so it proved. The Ukrainian saw his tame effort saved by Dudek, who was once again significantly off his goal line as the Milan striker struck the ball.
It remains to be seen, of course, whether the penalty shootout would have taken a different path had the penalties been retaken or had both Dudek and Dida been made aware beforehand if the current laws of the game were being enforced back then. However, one thing is for sure, the Liverpool stopper gained a considerable advantage in Istanbul.