Triumphant Reds return to ecstatic Liverpool

A portion of the massive crowd of supporters gathered in Liverpool ahead of the arrival of their heroes.

A portion of the massive crowd of supporters gathered in Liverpool ahead of the arrival of their heroes.

Hundreds of thousands of deliriously happy Liverpool fans have turned out to celebrate their team's return home after last night's historic Champions League final win over AC Milan in Istanbul.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard lifts the European Cup after last night's historic victory
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard lifts the European Cup after last night's historic victory

Supporters dressed in Liverpool shirts and hoarse from nearly 24 hours of celebrations packed the streets, clapping and waving club flags and banners as their heroes paraded their trophy on an open-top bus.

British police estimated as many as 750,000 cheering fans turned out to see their heroes return to the city.

Others perched on traffic lights and road signs or waved from windows, jubilant after last night's penalty shoot-out victory.

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Liverpool's dramatic victory after they came from 3-0 down at half time to draw 3-3 within 15 minutes of the re-start sparked joy among fans on Merseyside and in Istanbul.

No team had ever come back from a three-goal deficit in the final, but Liverpool did just that during a stunning sequence in the 50th Champions Cup final. Captain Steve Gerrard scored in the 54th, Vladimir Smicer made it 3-2 in the 56th and Xabi Alonso tied it in the 60th on the rebound of his penalty kick, which goalkeeper Dida had saved.

The game, the highest-scoring final since 1962, went to 30 minutes of overtime, and Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek stopped Andriy Shevchenko twice in the 118th minute, first saving his header, then blocking Shevchenko's shot off the rebound.

Serginho put AC Milan's first penalty kick over the crossbar, and Dietmar Hamann converted his, With Dudek bouncing back and fourth on the goal line, he dived to his right and batted away Andrea Pirlo's kick with his right hand.

Djibril Cisse put Liverpool ahead 2-0, Jon Dahl Tomasson converted for AC Milan, Dida dived right to stop John Arne Riise and Kaka tied it for AC Milan. Smicer gave Liverpool a 3-2 lead and Shevchenko's kick down the middle was saved by Dudek.

It was the fifth title for Liverpool, a feat which means they get to keep the trophy Under current rules, Liverpool won't be able to defend its title because only the top four teams in England's Premier League qualified for next year's competition and Liverpool finished fifth.