Steven Gerrard recalls 'chaotic' Liverpool dressing room before memorable UEFA Champions League triumph in Istanbul
By Ben Morse
Published 12/06/2026 at 13:55 GMT+1
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In terms of pure drama, the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan might never be beaten.
What was said at half-time in Istanbul? Gerrard reveals all
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Trailing 3-0 at half-time to a star-studded Milan side, Liverpool mounted a miraculous second-half comeback before eventually going on to win via penalties in Istanbul.
Three goals in six second-half minutes saw what looked to be a convincing victory for the Italians turn into one of the most memorable games in football's long history.
At the heart of the display was captain Steven Gerrard, who scored Liverpool's first goal to begin their resurgence, and won the penalty from which they equalised.
And speaking to content creator StillRyan, TNT Sports expert Gerrard - who was named man of the match for his performance - explained the momentum of the game pivoted mostly because of manager Rafael Benitez's half-time actions.
Gerrard recalls the Liverpool changing room as being "chaotic" after two goals from Hernan Crespo and one from Paolo Maldini gave Milan a commanding lead. Â
"The dressing room at half-time wasn't a nice place," the 46-year-old said. "Finger-pointing, a lot of men who emotionally were not in a good place."
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He added that Liverpool's players were not thinking about a comeback at half-time, instead focussing on keeping the score respectable.
He said: "This can't be four, five or six. We can't be embarrassed. We've got to fight, we've got change."
Gerrard outlined that despite the big personalities in the Liverpool squad, Benitez was able to remain calm in order to make the right decisions to alter the course of the match.
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"We had a calm manager who made the right decisions," he said. "Dietmar Hamann had to come on to the pitch because we were getting overrun, especially in the midfield area.
"We tried to match their diamond up, we ended up being a 4-4-2. It wasn't right, the balance of the team. He fixed it, we were better and we had a period in the game where we got back into it.
"But it was end-to-end, we still could've lost it from there. It was more about playing for pride and respect at half-time."
Gerrard added: "If you think about a time when you need a world-class coach to walk in and get order and change the right things tactically, make the right calls, we were lucky to have that manager.
"Then it was about senior players rallying the troops, resetting and going again."
Replacing Steve Finnan with Hamann proved an inspired decision as the game changed drastically after the break.
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Gerrard reduced the deficit nine minutes into the second-half, with Vladimir Smicer scoring Liverpool's second just two minutes later.
And the remarkable comeback was complete on the hour mark when Xabi Alonso put in the rebound from his penalty.
Having survived extra-time, Jerzy Dudek saved Andriy Shevchenko's decisive penalty in the shoot-out to crown Liverpool as European champions once again.
It was a defining moment for Gerrard as the captain of the team, and one he still struggles to express.
"The feeling after the game, I've tried talking about it all the time, you can't put that into words," he concluded.
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