Jaap Stam quashes AC Milan 'celebration' claim and refutes Liverpool myth

Liverpool have basked in truly iconic moments throughout their rich history and have created everlasting memories for generations of fans. One of the most celebrated and talked about achievements to this day is of course the Miracle of Istanbul.

No Liverpool fan will need reminding of the magic that unfolded against AC Milan at the Atatürk Stadium that night in 2005. Steven Gerrard rallying the crowd after scoring one back from 3-0 down, Vladimír Šmicer's strike, the Xabi Alonso follow-up from the spot to pull it even, and that knowing nod from Jerzy Dudek after somehow denying Andriy Shevchenko from point-blank range...

It was a night of fireworks and hard-earned celebrations for Liverpool but most fans will still say they believed they were undoubtedly the underdogs walking into that match. That Milan knew they had it in the bag. However, this is something that has been debunked by Jaap Stam, who started at centre-back that night in Istanbul.

Speaking on episode 10 of 'Stick to Football', the Dutchman said his team never saw Rafa Benítez's Reds as the 'weaker' side, and he addressed the rumours that Milan 'were already celebrating' at half-time after going 3-0 up in the first half.

"I think that’s how Liverpool fans, or our fans are approaching the story, and thinking maybe we thought Liverpool is a weaker side, or have weaker players, but that’s not how we approached that game. We approached that game very professionally, as you might think with all the players in that team," Stam said.

"There’s been talks which really disturb me. At half-time, people are saying that we were already celebrating and stuff like that. Can you imagine players of this level going into a dressing room and even at 3-0 up, thinking how we’re going to celebrate? Ancelotti made this remark as well, he said, ‘if we can score three in 45 minutes, the opposition can as well, so we need to be careful.'"

Stam won the Champions League with Manchester United during his stint in England between 1998 and 2001 but admitted he and Milan were 'really devastated' to lose out to Liverpool, as they eventually faltered in the penalty shootout and went home empty-handed.