Rafael Benitez reveals truth about Istanbul team talk amid Liverpool 'embarrassment' fear

There will never be another match like the 2005 Champions League final. There could be, of course, but it feels a safe bet to describe Liverpool’s win over AC Milan on penalties as a complete one-off.

While the Reds famously let a three-goal lead slip at Crystal Palace at the end of 2013/14, the stakes were obviously far lower and it was not 3-0 at half time. That was the task facing Liverpool in Istanbul, yet they somehow managed to erase Milan’s advantage in just six minutes early in the second half.

Much has been written about what the Reds’ then-manager Rafael Benitez did and said during the interval to turn the tide in his side’s favor. The man himself has admitted he wanted to avoid embarrassment, as he recently explained when he spoke at length about the most famous match in Liverpool history.

READ MORE: Rafael Benitez reignites Sir Alex Ferguson rivalry after Liverpool vs Man Utd feud

READ MORE: Rafa Benitez finally explains Xabi Alonso and Gareth Barry transfer saga amid Liverpool admission

“At half-time of the 2005 Champions League final, I remember saying to the team that we must score one goal, we have nothing to lose because we’ve worked so hard to get to the final and to keep their heads up,” Benitez said. “I knew that if we scored one goal, then we could get back into the game. We were lucky to have scored three goals in six minutes, but we changed the tactics and the dynamic of the game.

“I was worried about losing the game by five or six goals, but as a manager, you have to convince your players that the game isn’t over, so at half time, I was quite calm, and I was trying to find a solution to win the game. I didn’t have the belief that we could win the game, but I had to pass on the message of belief to the players, so they kept their heads up and kept going.”

“For the second half, the main aim was to have control and having Dietmar Hamann was ideal because he gave us more balance, but the reality was that the Italian teams weren’t used to playing against the 4-3-2-1 formation which helped us.”

“In that moment of half-time, I was thinking about solutions. I was thinking about being embarrassed, but ultimately, we needed solutions and that was making sure the players had the belief that they could win the game and that was our solution.”

“What people don’t realize is that after I had done my half-time team talk and had already sent out Dietmar Hamann to warm up, the physio was telling me that Steve Finnan wasn’t able to continue so after I had said everything and changed our tactics for the second half, I had to change things again last minute.”

Rafa Benítez was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool supporters never tire of hearing more about the miracle of Istanbul. What Benitez and his players achieved has gone down in football legend. Fears of embarrassment were well founded but the remarkable turnaround consigned such thoughts to history.