San Siro Sizzles and Liverpool Suffer… Seven Great European Nights in Italy

Italian teams have, over the years, been involved in some epic encounters on the continental stage. From European Cup finals, before and after it became the Champions League, to glamour games in the Europa League and Conference League.

Clubs from Italy have won a combined 50 European trophies and during a remarkable run in the glory days, at least one Serie A representative featured in a final every season between 1989 and 1999.

Memorable as the finals were, Italian clubs also produced historic performances without lifting a trophy, in earlier rounds, in atmospheres that still make hairs on the back of the neck stand up when watched on grainy YouTube footage.

Here, we have picked seven of the best European displays from Serie A teams in front of their own fans.

AC Milan vs Real Madrid, 1989 European Cup semi-final

Arguably the defining game of Arrigo Sacchi’s tenure at AC Milan. The Rossoneri arrived in the second leg at San Siro with a precious away goal after a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Sacchi was furious.

“We were robbed in Madrid,” he recalled to La Gazzetta dello Sport in 2020. “Ruud Gullit had a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out.”

It mattered not a jot. Roared on by a packed San Siro, still in its pre-Italia 90 configuration and without the iconic red girders, Milan tore Real Madrid apart with a display of such ferocious dominance and complete superiority in every department that it put European football on notice.

Carlo Ancelotti, deployed in the unfamiliar role of left wing following Alberigo Evani’s injury, opened the scoring with a piledriver, before Frank Rijkaard added a second midway through the first half. When Gullit made it three before the break, a place in the final was as good as secured before Marco van Basten and Roberto Donadoni rounded things off.

Milan had put five goals past Real Madrid before the hour mark and European football would never be the same again.

“When I got home that night, I knew I had fulfilled a dream,” Sacchi said. And indeed he had.

Genoa vs Liverpool, 1992 UEFA Cup quarter-final

Under Osvaldo Bagnoli, Genoa made history by becoming the first Italian side to win at Anfield in a European competition, after two goals from Carlos Aguilera either side of an Ian Rush effort secured their place in the UEFA Cup semi-final.

The seeds of success had been sewn two weeks earlier in Genoa though, when Valeriano Fiorin put the Rossoblu, wearing their away kit, ahead late in the first half. One of Italy’s most atmospheric stadiums, the Luigi Ferraris had been vocal long before kick-off, welcoming the teams on the pitch to a wall of noise, and became louder still as Genoa protected their lead in the second half.

Then came lift-off, as the hosts were awarded a foul in front of the Gradinata Nord with two minutes left. Up stepped Brazil international Branco, who lashed home a trademark free-kick, the ball swerving past the wall and into the top corner.

Sampdoria reached the European Cup final in the same season and continental football has never reached the same heights since in Genoa. The Rossoblu, meanwhile, adopted You’ll Never Walk Alone as their pre-match anthem after winning at Anfield.

Torino vs Real Madrid, 1992 UEFA Cup semi-final

The Stadio delle Alpi was the original white elephant. Built for Italia 90, it was plonked on the outskirts of Turin and blighted by poor sightlines and a running track that was used just once.

For one night in April 1992, however, it turned into one of the most raucous and passionate arenas in European football as Torino welcomed Real Madrid for the second leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final.

A 2-1 defeat in the Spanish capital had left the door ajar for the Granata and Emiliano Mondonico’s men proceeded to rip it off its hinges within seven minutes, when Ricardo Rocha deflected a cross into his own net. The Delle Alpi erupted like never before, and it would seldom do in the next 14 years before eventually being demolished.

In the best Spanish tradition, Real charged at the bull but Torino held their nerve, before Luca Fusi applied the coup de grace with 74 minutes on the clock, finishing off a superb solo run from Gianluigi Lentini. The Granata had reached their first European final, on a night that will forever be etched in the club’s folklore.

Juventus vs Ajax, 1997 Champions League semi-final

Loathed as the Stadio delle Alpi may have been, it was also capable of generating an intimidating atmosphere when Juventus were the domestic and continental benchmark in the mid-1990s.

The ground became a graveyard for European teams as Juve reached three consecutive Champions League finals between 1996 and 1998, before falling at the semi-final stage 12 months later.

Having dethroned champions Ajax to lift the trophy in 1996, the Bianconeri came across the Dutch giants again 12 months later. A 2-1 win in Amsterdam set Juventus on their way, but more was to come in the second leg.

Two goals in three minutes from Attilio Lombardo and Christian Vieri effectively sealed a place in the final, before Nicola Amoruso and Zinedine Zidane added the shine.

The scoreline, if anything, flattered the visitors. Juventus tore through Ajax and could have scored at least another five. “It was my best game ever,” Zidane, who also set up two goals, recalled.

Inter Milan vs Barcelona, 2010 Champions League semi-final

Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final to become the first Italian team to complete the Treble, but the fact Diego Milito’s brace at the Santiago Bernabeu against the Bundesliga giants is almost a footnote speaks volume for the magnitude of the semi-final against Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola’s champions were football’s yang to Jose Mourinho’s yin and this was a battle for the ages. Volcanic eruptions in Iceland forced the Catalans to travel to Milan by coach, where they were met by a red-hot atmosphere. Pedro opened the scoring 19 minutes in, but Wesley Sneijder levelled and Maicon put Inter ahead shortly after the break.

By the time Milito tapped home the third just after the hour, the roof came off. San Siro hasn’t experienced an atmosphere quite like that since.

Roma vs Barcelona, 2018 Champions League quarter-final

“Roma have risen from their ruins! Manolas, the Greek God in Rome! The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes. This was not meant to happen, this could not happen… this is happening!”

Peter Drury’s commentary of Roma’s turnaround against Barcelona has become almost as famous as the comeback itself. The Stadio Olimpico was at its febrile best as Barca arrived in the Eternal City with a three-goal advantage after thrashing Roma 4-1 in the first leg.

The Giallorossi had a mountain to climb but reduced the gap almost immediately when Edin Dzeko scored six minutes in. The Bosnian, who had scored Roma’s only goal in the first game, then won a penalty just before the hour, which Daniele De Rossi converted.

The Olimpico was now a cauldron of noise and Kostas Manolas headed home to spark absolute pandemonium. It could not happen, but happen it did.

Napoli vs Liverpool, 2022 Champions League group stage

Liverpool had been warned that Naples was rarely a welcoming destination for English teams and as the group phase kicked off it proved to be spectacularly true.

Napoli, making their return to the Champions League for the first time in two years, stepped on the gas from the start and never let go. Piotr Zielinski opened the scoring from the spot just five minutes in, before Victor Osimhen had another penalty saved.

André-Frank Zambo Anguissa doubled their advantage, before Giovanni Simeone fired home a third. Napoli, in truth, could have been six goals up by then and they added a fourth through Zielinski shortly after half-time, with Luis Diaz on target for the Merseysiders.

Losing finalists only three months earlier, Liverpool had been vanquished at the Maradona. They would not be the last team to suffer the same fate, as Napoli cruised to a first Scudetto in 33 years under Luciano Spalletti.