Carragher admits Liverpool ‘feared’ Champions League final would be humiliation

Jamie Carragher has admitted Liverpool "feared" the 2005 Champions League final would turn into a humiliation.

The Reds famously trailed AC Milan 3-0 at half-time in Istanbul, only to produce a stunning second half comeback before winning on penalties. Carragher has now revealed the mentality of the players in the changing room during the interval whilst appearing as a pundit for Liverpool's trip to Real Madrid, with the club again bidding to overcome a three-goal deficit from their first leg loss.

After being asked what the team talk was that made sure Liverpool could do it, Carragher told CBS Sports Golazo: "Make sure it’s not six.

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"I am asked that question, I would say, probably on a weekly basis. People are desperate to know and there’s no secret, there’s nothing special.

"I mean we were all inside there fearing it would be five or six and the manager actually made a defensive substitution, bringing Didi Hamann on, who was a defensive midfield player.

"What we needed to do to start with was stop Milan scoring, before we could even think about scoring ourselves. We had to make it more difficult for them."

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Carragher played the full match as Rafael Benitez's side pulled off an historic fight back to win their fifth European crown in the Turkish capital.

Fellow pundit Micah Richards also asked Carragher when he believed Liverpool would complete the comeback, with the Anfield hero revealing he knew it would happen once they made it 3-2.

He added: "Once it went to 3-2, I knew it would go to 3-3. When you’ve been on the pitch and you don’t even have to speak to the other players, there’s just a feeling. It’s eye contact. You look at the opposition as well.

"We always wanted to get to 3-3. I didn’t think then we were guaranteed to win but I knew by getting two quick goals, we were always going to make it 3-3."

Three goals in seven minutes helped Liverpool level the score by the 61st minute before Jerzy Dudek's penalty shootout heroics secured a dramatic victory.

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