Milan in seventh heaven

Carlo Ancelotti hailed his "greatest victory" with AC Milan as his side beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Olympic stadium to lift the European Champions Cup for the seventh time.

Striker Filippo Inzaghi scored both Milan’s goals, one in each half, and despite a late headed goal from Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt, Milan were worthy winners in a tight match.

Ancelotti, whose job as Milan coach was under threat late last year, said: "This is an important victory because we did not lose sight of what we wanted to achieve.

"It’s an extraordinary achievement. Very few fans expected us to win the most important trophy. Maybe no-one. But this is the greatest victory we’ve had".

Milan also owed their triumph to two saves from goalkeeper Dida, one from Jermaine Pennant in the first half and the other from Steven Gerrard in the second.

Ancelotti also revealed that, while he may have answered some of the critics who called for his head last November, he never contemplated leaving the club.

He added: "My market value has increased thanks to this victory, but my relationship with Milan is very strong.

"It’s a very special relationship to me. I feel I belong to the Milan club. I played in this shirt, won important trophies in the shirt.

"I wasn’t bothered about the rumours about someone replacing me in November. We just wanted to forget all the bad games which happened last August".

Ancelotti also hoped that the victory might paint Italian football in a brighter light following the corruption scandal which saw Milan start the season with an eight-point penalty in Serie A.

He said: "I wouldn’t talk about revenge as regards the scandal. But Italian football and Milan suffered a lot.

"It is important for Italian football and we could become more serene because of this and get back some credibility".

Ancelotti admitted scoring first via Inzaghi’s deflection from Andrea Pirlo’s free-kick was crucial.

"That gave us confidence," added Ancelotti. "Before then we had few chances and few dangerous situations. We made more space in the second half.

"In the first half it was a difficult game. Liverpool attacked very strongly. There was a lot of pressure on our midfield. We couldn’t get balls to Kaka and Seedorf.

"But we are a tough team. We played with attention and care and getting Ambrosini and Nesta fit was very important".

At the end Kaka slumped to his knees in the centre circle and prayed to the heavens while Inzaghi was enveloped in a sea of white shirts.

Inzaghi, who has now scored 38 Champions League goals, then revealed his first goal was a rehearsed move.

"I managed to do it against Empoli in the derby last year," he said. "Every now and again we manage to pull it off. We rehearse it with the manager.

"It’s deeply rewarding for me, but most important was to win the cup. The coaches and the players work very closely together and it is great what we have achieved.

"We had to be careful. At 2-0 we felt euphoric but you should never lower your attention. Anything in football can happen, but we were glad it didn’t happen tonight".