That second half was remarkable. At 3-1 you felt that at least Liverpool would salvage some pride, at 3-2 you realised they were suddenly back in the match and by 3-3 you felt there could only be one winner!
And when Jerzy Dudek pulled off that double save at the end to deny Andriy Shevchenko you became convinced Liverpool would go on to triumph. It was a defining moment in a match full of them - from Benitez's half-time team talk, to the impact of the substitutions to the film script ending.
From the prospect of a nightmare finish, Liverpool had turned it round to one of the greatest nights in their history.
Whether Benitez really believed his side could overcome the three-goal deficit at half-time is doubtful, but the fact that he managed to infuse such a positive response in his players is testimony to his powers of persuasion.
And he was prepared to make changes and the different formation paid dividends.
Steven Gerrard, who else?, became such a driving force in the much the same way he transformed the FA Cup final, but there were heroes all over the pitch in both finals.
Milan, who had such quality in the first half, did not look the same side after the break.
It's amazing to think that less than 12 months later Liverpool were to be involved in another dramatic final.
