20 years on'Total limbs, total joy' - the story of Anfield's epic 2005 European night against Chelsea

The ball had crossed the line, said the Liverpool manager. It hadn’t, said the Chelsea boss.

Crucially, the only opinions that counted were those of referee Lubos Michel and his assistant on the touchline, Roman Slysco, four minutes into the match: it was a goal. Cue rampant scenes of celebration that had the whole stadium – including the TV cameras – bouncing.

Internazionale in 1965, Saint-Etienne in 1977, Borussia Dortmund in 2016, Barcelona in 2019. Anfield has been blessed with some special European nights and slap-bang in the middle is the clash with Chelsea we are referring to.

Tuesday May 3, 2005 – 20 years ago to the day. Those who were there will never forget.

Under new manager Benitez, the Reds had reached the last four of the Champions League the hard way. With their domestic form in flux, qualification from the group stage came only thanks to Steven Gerrard’s stunning late strike at home to Olympiacos.

Following a fine two-legged display against 2002 finalists Bayer Leverkusen in the first knockout round, Liverpool then edged past Juventus in the quarter-finals.

Standing between them and the final were Mourinho’s Chelsea, newly crowned champions of England.

Boosted by the financial clout of their owner, the west Londoners had clinched the title the previous Saturday – and their recent record against the Reds was impressive. One-nil wins at Stamford Bridge and Anfield in the Premier League had been secured on both occasions by Joe Cole goals.

February’s League Cup final in Cardiff, meanwhile, had been settled in extra-time after John Arne Riise’s volleyed rocket on 46 seconds was cancelled out by Gerrard’s unfortunate headed own goal 11 minutes from the end of normal time. Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman scored for Chelsea in the added period before Antonio Nunez gave Liverpool a futile glimmer of hope.

So, no wins for the Reds in three encounters so far in season 2004-05.

No win either in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in the capital on Wednesday April 27. But no defeat, either. It ended goalless.

Chelsea remained favourites to reach Istanbul. But this was Europe, this was Anfield, and this was a seventh semi-final appearance in the competition for Liverpool.

Among those in the Kop’s red sea that night was fan Dan Davies, who had the presence of mind to film the last few frenzied seconds of the match on a pocket-sized digital camera. Back then, smart phones and social media were still things of the future.

“It was a lovely, light spring evening and before the game I remember being outside a pub by the ground and saying to my friends that there was something magical in the air,” says Davies. “Chelsea hadn’t walked into Anfield on a big European night and I just felt that if we started fast and the place was rocking, anything could happen.”

Anfield was full a good hour before kick-off, a constant chorus of ‘Oh When The Reds’ reverberating around the ground. In those days, prior to the expansions of the Main Stand and Anfield Road Stand, the capacity for European ties was slightly more than 42,500.

Thousands more had packed the pubs in L4 and back in the city centre to watch the match.

“Even when we were warming up 40 minutes before the game, the crowd was as loud as it’s been for a long time,” recalled Reds defender Jamie Carragher afterwards. “Normally you can hear [stadium announcer] George Sephton playing his records, but he was drowned out by the singing. We knew then it was going to be a special night and it gave us a hell of a boost.”

Sephton himself, the ‘Voice of Anfield’, let us into a little secret two decades on: “I can’t remember the exact playlist from that night. But I do know I made it the loudest ever because I had control of the volume! The result was that the crowd were competing with the PA and the noise was incredible.”

Steve Hothersall will vouch for that. He was commentating for Radio City at the time and says his most vivid memory is “the noise from the Kop, so far ahead of kick-off. I turned to John Aldridge, who was co-commentating, and said, ‘This is different level’. We couldn’t hear ourselves properly in our headphones.

“The conversation all week had been about Liverpool on the verge of this unbelievable achievement, and me and Aldo were in our commentary position in the old Main Stand press box extra-early. It was obvious that it was going to be a night beyond all proportions.”

Liverpool lost the toss and were obliged to kick towards the Kop in the first half. Bad omen? Far from it. Within four minutes they were ahead.

Riise cut inside from the left flank and found Gerrard. The captain’s fabulous first-time flick with the outside of his boot put Milan Baros through and the striker was clattered by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

As the crowd bayed for a penalty, the ball bounced loose and Luis Garcia nipped in to nudge it – via a slight deflection from John Terry – towards the open goal, where it was desperately hooked away by defender William Gallas.

Had it fully crossed the line? The introduction of VAR in the Champions League was still years away. Straight away, however, referee Michel made the call. A fortnight later he explained why.

“[My assistant] Roman beeped me to signal the [original] foul by Cech, but I didn’t know that until later,” he said. “It was the noise from the crowd that stopped me hearing it – I’ve never in my life been involved in such an atmosphere. I didn’t need the signal from Roman, though. I had already seen the foul and played advantage.

“There was no doubt in Roman’s mind about the goal and he was in the best position to see. I chose him to be part of our team and I trust him. He is a heart surgeon and mistaken decisions are not allowed in his job. There was no need to confer. He signalled the goal and sprinted back to the halfway line.”

Hothersall describes the scenes that followed as “absolute lunacy. You couldn’t hold Aldo back – he was roaring as soon as Garcia ran away with his hands in the air. I’ve done so many events over the years with the likes of Luis, Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypia, and to this day they all answer in the same way: it would have been a penalty and a sending-off otherwise, had the goal not been given.”

For many supporters looking back now, the rest of the match is a blur, its details erased by the almost unbearable tension.

The statistics say Liverpool had 40 per cent possession, Chelsea 60 per cent. The Reds had more shots on target, four to one – Chelsea’s sole effort being a stinging Frank Lampard free-kick on 66 minutes pushed past the post by Jerzy Dudek. But the visitors had more shots off target, six to two, and five blocked shots to one.

For much of the second half Chelsea were virtually camped in the Liverpool half. But as The Guardian match report put it, “the Kop was breathing fire into the hearts of the red-shirted defenders now arranged in front of them.”

Substitute Djibril Cisse, on for Baros, saw a late header saved before six minutes of additional time was indicated. In the last of those minutes, the crowd held its breath as Chelsea forward Eidur Gudjohnsen somehow screwed a shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

Hothersall again: “You talk about Steven Gerrard in the final, well Jamie Carragher in the semi-final was unbelievable. But he probably had nightmares for weeks afterwards about that Gudjohnsen shot because you’re talking about Liverpool on a precipice there. It felt like it took forever.

“Chelsea had the ball a lot that night. But tactically, especially over two legs, Rafa had a way of understanding how to get your nose in front and keep what you’ve got.”

On the Kop it was fever pitch. “The atmosphere got more intense with every minute,” recalls Davies. “I’ve been lucky to experience some huge nights at Anfield but the Kop end was physically shaking – bouncing, moving.

“I filmed the last 60 seconds because I needed something to distract me from the tension. I had one of those ‘flip video’ cameras and was watching the end of the game while recording it. The eruption at the final whistle is the biggest I’ve ever been in. Total limbs. Total joy.”

Sephton says he “banged on YNWA after the final whistle and even made a little speech over the public address system along the lines of, ‘I’ve been coming to Anfield for 45 years and the atmosphere tonight was the best I can ever remember.’”

In the post-match press conference Mourinho acknowledged “the power of Anfield” and, despite insisting that the goal should never have stood, graciously added: “I hope Liverpool can win the final. I give them full credit and I give their manager full credit.”

Benitez paid tribute to the Reds’ 12th man: “I said that with our supporters behind us and the players running hard, we can win. We played with a strong mentality tonight. The atmosphere was fantastic. I said before the game that our supporters are maybe the best in England. Today I think they are the best in Europe.”

Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo in the aftermath: “The gaffer said he wanted me to find the key and I’d like to think I did with that pass [for the goal] to unlock their defence. I can hardly put into words how I feel. I’m just unbelievably happy for everyone. The Carling Cup final was the worst day of my life, but this is the best night of my life.

“We couldn’t believe the atmosphere out there and it made such a difference. We’ve got to be thinking about finishing the job now and winning the Champions League. I want us to bring that cup back home.”

Was it Anfield’s best atmosphere?

The late and legendary Ian St John, who was there in the stands, had this to say: “That was as special a night here as I’ve ever seen. That result was down to the crowd – they were non-stop for 96 minutes. I wasn’t here for Saint-Etienne but I was in the team the night we played Inter Milan and believe me, that was amazing – but tonight was easily as good.”

Hothersall concludes: “Football is so subjective and we all have our own idea. I was lucky enough to be at the Barcelona game and that was unbelievable. But that had the narrative of [Lionel] Messi and [Luis] Suarez and Liverpool being 3-0 down. The Dortmund game was brilliant but for me not quite on the same level.

“In terms of sheer noise and what you felt – the ground shaking – I’d never experienced anything like that Liverpool-Chelsea game. You came away and thought: wow, that’s what football should be at its very best.

“It had everything. Two managers pitted against each other by the media. Steven Gerrard and this Liverpool team that nobody gave a hope in hell to, against a Chelsea side that Roman Abramovich had spent millions on – and were a brilliant outfit, by the way.

“To think it’s been 20 years, it’s astonishing. That night for me will never be matched.”