2Slick
04-12-2006, 21:21
With Liverpool FC assured of first place and Galatasaray SK consigned to finishing fourth, there is only pride at stake when the sides meet in Istanbul for their final Group C fixture. For the English club, however, the visit marks a nostalgic return to the scene of one of their greatest triumphs.
• It was at the Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium that Rafael BenÃÂ*tez's men produced a stunning comeback against AC Milan in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final. Trailing 3-0 at half-time, they fought back to 3-3 through goals from Steven Gerrard, VladimÃÂ*r Ã…Â*micer and Xabi Alonso before prevailing 3-2 on penalties. The team that won Liverpool's fifth European crown was: Jerzy Dudek; Steve Finnan (Dietmar Hamann 46), Sami Hyypiä, Jamie Carragher, Djimi Traoré; Harry Kewell (VladimÃÂ*r Ã…Â*micer 23), Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, John Arne Riise; Luis GarcÃÂ*a, Milan BaroÅ¡ (Djibril Cissé 85).
Group winners
• Liverpool made sure of featuring among the eight group winners by defeating PSV Eindhoven 2-0 on Matchday 5, thanks to second-half goals from captain Gerrard and Peter Crouch. The victory left Liverpool three points clear of PSV and even if they lose to Galatasaray and PSV win at FC Girondins de Bordeaux, the Merseyside club's superior-to-head record ensures they cannot be overtaken.
• Since drawing 0-0 with PSV on Matchday 1, Liverpool have recorded four successive wins, starting with a 3-2 victory against Galatasaray. The Reds led 3-0 through Crouch (2) and Luis GarcÃÂ*a before a Ãœmit Karan double reduced the deficit for Erik Gerets' side. Liverpool subsequently enjoyed back-to-back wins over Bordeaux (1-0 and 3-0).
Running the risk
• With just one point, Galatasaray risk recording their worst performance in the UEFA Champions League. Their lowest points' total in eleven previous group appearances was in 1993/94 when they finished with two.
• A 3-1 loss at Bordeaux on Matchday 5 ended Galatasaray's hopes of finishing third. Alejandro César Alonso, Lilian Laslandes and Julien Faubert scored for Bordeaux prior to Junichi Inamoto's 73rd-minute consolation strike for a visiting side reduced to ten men by Arda Turan's dismissal. Although Galatasaray could yet join Bordeaux on four points, their head-to-head record is inferior given the sides' 0-0 draw in Istanbul on Matchday 1. Since that stalemate, Galatasaray have suffered four successive losses, including home (1-2) and away (0-2) defeats by PSV.
Past meetings
• Galatasaray have won only once in seven previous home encounters with English opposition. It finished 1-1 when the Turkish side met Liverpool for the first time in Istanbul in the 2001/02 second group stage. After a goalless stalemate at Anfield, Emile Heskey cancelled out Radu Niculescu's opener in the return. On the pitch that February 2002 night were seven players in the current squads: Galatasaray's Ayhan Akman, Faryd Mondragón, Ergün Penbe and Hasan Şaş, and Liverpool's Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypiä and John Arne Riise.
http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/UCL/FixturesResults/Round=2357/match=1116398/index.html
• It was at the Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium that Rafael BenÃÂ*tez's men produced a stunning comeback against AC Milan in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final. Trailing 3-0 at half-time, they fought back to 3-3 through goals from Steven Gerrard, VladimÃÂ*r Ã…Â*micer and Xabi Alonso before prevailing 3-2 on penalties. The team that won Liverpool's fifth European crown was: Jerzy Dudek; Steve Finnan (Dietmar Hamann 46), Sami Hyypiä, Jamie Carragher, Djimi Traoré; Harry Kewell (VladimÃÂ*r Ã…Â*micer 23), Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, John Arne Riise; Luis GarcÃÂ*a, Milan BaroÅ¡ (Djibril Cissé 85).
Group winners
• Liverpool made sure of featuring among the eight group winners by defeating PSV Eindhoven 2-0 on Matchday 5, thanks to second-half goals from captain Gerrard and Peter Crouch. The victory left Liverpool three points clear of PSV and even if they lose to Galatasaray and PSV win at FC Girondins de Bordeaux, the Merseyside club's superior-to-head record ensures they cannot be overtaken.
• Since drawing 0-0 with PSV on Matchday 1, Liverpool have recorded four successive wins, starting with a 3-2 victory against Galatasaray. The Reds led 3-0 through Crouch (2) and Luis GarcÃÂ*a before a Ãœmit Karan double reduced the deficit for Erik Gerets' side. Liverpool subsequently enjoyed back-to-back wins over Bordeaux (1-0 and 3-0).
Running the risk
• With just one point, Galatasaray risk recording their worst performance in the UEFA Champions League. Their lowest points' total in eleven previous group appearances was in 1993/94 when they finished with two.
• A 3-1 loss at Bordeaux on Matchday 5 ended Galatasaray's hopes of finishing third. Alejandro César Alonso, Lilian Laslandes and Julien Faubert scored for Bordeaux prior to Junichi Inamoto's 73rd-minute consolation strike for a visiting side reduced to ten men by Arda Turan's dismissal. Although Galatasaray could yet join Bordeaux on four points, their head-to-head record is inferior given the sides' 0-0 draw in Istanbul on Matchday 1. Since that stalemate, Galatasaray have suffered four successive losses, including home (1-2) and away (0-2) defeats by PSV.
Past meetings
• Galatasaray have won only once in seven previous home encounters with English opposition. It finished 1-1 when the Turkish side met Liverpool for the first time in Istanbul in the 2001/02 second group stage. After a goalless stalemate at Anfield, Emile Heskey cancelled out Radu Niculescu's opener in the return. On the pitch that February 2002 night were seven players in the current squads: Galatasaray's Ayhan Akman, Faryd Mondragón, Ergün Penbe and Hasan Şaş, and Liverpool's Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypiä and John Arne Riise.
http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/UCL/FixturesResults/Round=2357/match=1116398/index.html