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Look, let’s not get carried away: this was only the greatest performance in a European final since 1960, perhaps ever. Boring Boring Milan were devastating in attack, and took an excellent Barcelona side to the cleaners. Goodness knows what score it would have been had Milan not declared when Marcel Desailly made it 4-0 after an hour.
You never get a second chance to make a last impression. Milan’s 1993-94 season, for so long a strange mix of success and criticism, will now be remembered for this glorious exhibition. Goodnight!
Marcel Desailly lifts the trophy as he becomes the first player to win the trophy in consecutive years with different clubs after winning with Marseille the previous season. Photograph: Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images
Goalscorer Dejan Savicevic gives the trophy a kiss as the devil looks on. Photograph: speedpix/Alamy
85 min Savicevic almost makes it 5-0! Donadoni scurried away from Bakero on the left, another lovely run, before cutting the ball back to Savicevic at the far post. He swept his shot just wide with Zubizaretta scrambling across his line.
83 min Maldini is still struggling. He limps off to be replaced by Stefano Nava. It looks like an impact injury rather than anything too serious, so at this stage I wouldn’t be too worried about his World Cup prospects. Maldini, in a fairly unfamiliar role as the spare centre back, was majestic.
81 min A good cross from Amor towards Bakero hits the shoulder of the leaping Albertini and goes behind for a corner. Most of the Barcelona players are still attacking with purpose and intent. It’s only really without the ball that they have been sulking.
80 min There have been so many immense performances for Milan tonight. I’d make Desailly the Man of the Match, a nose ahead of Savicevic. It shouldn’t be possible, in a European Cup final, to dominate a midfield like Desailly has tonight.
79 min There’s a break in play while Maldini receives treatment. He’s in quite a lot of pain, with both hands on his head. Somewhere in the world, Arrigo Sacchi is screaming for Fabio Capello to take Maldini off. He’s going to continue, but he’s moving gingerly.
74 min Stoichkov, cutting infield from the left, waves a quite stunning pass with the outside of the foot towards Romario. It beats three Milan defenders but not the last man Galli, who comes across and runs the ball to safety.
72 min A frustrated Sergi tries to trip Boban, who ignores him and carries on. Sergi has already been booked and could have gone for that. Then there are more olés as Desailly walks away from Bakero and Stoichkov with disdain. The humiliation is all too much for Barcelona, who have shipped four goals and plenty of dignity; moments later Guardiola eases his studs into Desailly’s calf.
69 min “I’m worried, Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “It’s the Scottish Cup final on Saturday, and I think Dundee United could be the Barcelona to Rangers’ Milan. Rangers didn’t win any of their final five league games but still won the league with a bit to spare, and are going for a second consecutive domestic treble. United have never won the Scottish Cup, and have lost four of the last nine finals. But hey, you never know in football ...”
I’d like to apologise in advance for the pain you will experience on Saturday. I’ve seen Biff Tannen’s Almanac, and Rangers are going to walk it.
65 min Ferrer, who has been booked, is penalised for an ultra-cynical foul on Tassotti. Philip Don could reasonably have sent off two or three Barcelona players in the last 10 minutes.
64 min Desailly dispossesses Romario, who tries to trip him and fails. Then Ferrer has a go - and also fails. Desailly, with admirable support from Albertini, has totally dominated the midfield.
62 min Barcelona’s collective noggin has gone. Amor is lucky not to be booked – at the very least – for planting his studs down the back of Desailly’s leg. Then, with Desailly receiving treatment, Romario complains that Milan are timewasting. They’re 4-0 up mate.
60 min Amor is hopping around after a very strong man-and-ball challenge from Panucci. No foul was given, and we haven’t seen a replay, but there were no complaints form any other Barcelona players.
Who cares: it’s 4-0 now! Just 13 seconds after Savicevic’s chance, Marcel Desailly caps a magnificent performance with a quite storming goal!
When Savicevic hit the post, Nadal gave the loose ball to Eusebio on the right wing. He clipped it infield towards Amor and Guardiola, but Desailly nipped in between them to win the ball. Albertini then took it off Desailly, almost tripping him up in the process. But Desailly kept running and Albertini slipped the ball back to him with a neat pass. Desailly charged straight through a static Barcelona defence, opened his body and curled an empathic shot into the far corner. It’s another magnificent goal!
Capello’s hands are still in his pockets but this time there is a hint of a smile as he is smothered by his coaching team. Milan have been utterly awesome, and that goal sums up Desailly’s rampant midfield performance.
59 min: Savicevic hits the post! That was so close to 4-0! Albertini’s excellent quick free-kick cleared the backpedalling Sergi, who lost the flight of the ball, and was deftly controlled on the run by Savicevic. He dinked the ball over the diving Zubizaretta but it bounced off the inside of the near post.
58 min Another yellow card! That’s four in five minutes, but it’s hard to argue with any of them. The latest one was for a pullback by Ferrer on Savicevic.
57 min A pitiful long-range shot from Sergi goes well wide. Capello is not happy, however; he springs up and gives his defence a brollocking for sitting too deep.
56 min Three in three minutes! Yellow cards, that is. Milan play themselves out of the trouble with some lovely, confident passing. Desailly then moves imperiously past Sergi, who bundles him over and is booked.
55 min And now Nadal is booked for a grotesque and probably retaliatory foul on Savicevic. He basically ran him over, and Savicevic went miles in the air. Nadal lived up to his nickname of The Beast with that challenge. Sadly, he’s having an absolute beast: he was badly at fault for the first and third goals and could have been sent off for that.
54 min Albertini is booked for a cynical foul on the breaking Bakero. No self-respecting Italian midfielder would have let Bakero go there, 3-0 lead or no 3-0 lead.
53 min Romario tries to play a one-two with Bakero, but Galli heads the return ball away. What a lovely story it is – the perennial reserve who was whistled up in an emergency to mark the world’s deadliest striker. So far he has been flawless.
49 min Liam Brady makes the point that many European referees would have penalised Savicevic for a high foot, but in England that challenge is more common. I don’t think there was much wrong with it really.
49 min As good as Milan’s attacking has been, that was another defensive shocker from Barcelona. Nadal lost the ball unnecessarily and then tried to trip Savicevic with an instinctive kick. He couldn’t even manage that.
SENSATIONAL GOAL! Milan 3-0 Barcelona (Savicevic 48)
AC Milan are champions of Europe for the fifth time! The marvellous Dejan Savicevic has sealed victory – already – with an incredible goal!
It came from yet another defensive mistake by Barcelona. Albertini, on the halfway line, overhit a lobbed pass in the vague direction of Savicevic on the right wing. The ball ran through to Nadal, who gawped at it as it bounced a couple of times, trying to decide what to do.
By the time he made up his mind it was too late. Savicevic blocked his attempted clearance and then, from the right edge of the penalty area, sidefooted an outrageous lob that dipped over the leaping Zubizaretta and dropped into the far corner of the net!
Barcelona are complaining that Savicevic’s foot was high when he won the ball off Nadal. Maybe, maybe not. But the accuracy and arc of Savicevic’s lob, from a narrow angle and with Zubizaretta no more than three yards off his line at the near post, were out of this world. He had no right to score from there. He had no right to shoot from there.
“Brilliant performance by Milan,” says Gordon. “Much the better side. Savicevic, Donadoni, Boban so skilful. And a rock-solid defence. Barce surprisingly unable to change their tactics to counter.”
Johan Cruyff doesn’t really believe in a plan B, does he?
“On this pleasant spring day of May 1994 I’m visiting Tbilisi to participate in a spring school on Logic and Linguistics,” says Jonathan Ginzburg. “My hosts have taken me to a cinema packed to the brim to watch the game live. As the only two foreigners in the cinema, local tv interview my fellow guest (a Barcelona-hating Catalan) and me. They ask us for predictions: 3-2 Milan, with Van Basten scoring the winner. They look at us with (deserved) disdain.”
The half-time interval gives the BBC a chance to show highlights of England’s 5-0 win over Greece last night. The new coach Terry Venables, in the studio, looks relaxed and happy with life.
Jimmy Hill still hasn’t forgotten the miseries of 1993, however: he reminds us all that Ronald Koeman probably cost England a place in the World Cup and then says that, on tonight’s performance, “He wouldn’t get in a third division side”. Let it go, Jim, it’s over.
With the possible exception of Fabio Capello, anyone who says they saw this coming is a liar. Milan have been spectacularly good, far more attacking than everyone expected, and deserve to lead 2-0.
Milan double their lead with a glorious team goal! All Johan Cruyff’s pre-match comments about Milan have come back to haunt him in one sensational goal, the sort that Holland 74 – or Barcelona 94 – would have been proud to call their own.
Milan kept the ball for almost a minute before Boban swept a pass out to Donadoni on the left. He slipped delightfully away from Ferrer’s tackle, moved into the area and flicked a nonchalant pass back towards the edge of the area towards the unmarked Massaro. He watched the ball onto his left foot and slammed a blistering first-time shot into the far corner. What a goal!
I think Zubizaretta got a slight touch but he was beaten for power. Capello again celebrates by not celebrating, walking round with his hands in pockets. Internally, he’ll be doing cartwheels. Everything about that goal was immaculate: the patient build-up, the run and pass from Donadoni, and most of all the technique, power and precision of Massaro.
Daniele Massaro fires home to double Milan’s lead. Photograph: Action Images
45+2 min A long spell of possession for Milan gives their fans the opportunity to belt out a few lusty olés. They probably can’t believe how well this is going. The scoreline, maybe; the performance, no chance. The move eventually comes to nothing, with Panucci’s deflected cross looping through to Zubizaretta.
44 min Sergi cuts infield and lofts a pass towards Amor on the edge of the area. Like so many Barcelona passes tonight, it’s intercepted by Desailly. He’s been immense – and not just without the ball. He and Albertini have launched the majority of Milan’s counter-attacks with smart, penetrative passes.
42 min Barcelona have not been great tonight, but the two Romario chances have been classic examples of their ability to open teams up with a sudden change of pace.
41 min: So close from Romario! That was much more like it from Barcelona. Their three midfield players, Guardiola, Bakero and finally Amor, sliced Milan open with three simple passes down the centre of the pitch.
Amor played an excellent ball down the side of Maldini, and Romario exploded into life with an angled run and snapshot that flew just wide. Replays show that it took a crucial nick off the stretching Filippo Galli; otherwise it would have gone in the bottom corner.
41 min Bakero, trying to volley the ball out to Ferrer on the right wing, instead shanks it 30 yards back towards his own goal. It’s been that sort of half for Barcelona.
38 min This is a decent little spell for Barcelona, who are dominating possession for the first time in the game. They still look a bag of nerves in defence, mind you.
35 min And they do make something happen. Stoichkov clips a speculative ball across the face of the penalty area that reaches Begiristain on the other side. He moves onto his left foot and drives a crisp low shot that is comfortably held by Rossi.
33 min The resulting free-kick, 35 yards out, is hammered low towards goal by Albertini. It hits his team-mate Massaro just inside the area and spins up to Donadoni, who adjusts his feet and hits a fierce snap volley that is well held to his right by the tumbling Zubizaretta. Milan are so much sharper than Barcelona, who look a bit shocked by the tactical aggression of their opponents.
32 min Another beautiful piece of play from Savicevic. He receives a pass from Desailly with his back to goal, turns smoothly past Sergi and then slithers away from Amor and Nadal. Eventually he is shoved over by a frustrated Nadal. Those sinuous, elegant runs make Savicevic a joy to watch: he never seems to break into a sprint, instead beating his man through sleight of hip and a velvet touch.
28 min This is the size of Barcelona’s task: Milan have kept 34 clean sheets this season. I know they are without Baresi and Costacurta but Maldini and Galli have been excellent so far. As if to prove the point, Galli stretches around Romario to make a fine tackle.
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