1993/94: Massaro leads Milan rout
Wednesday 18 May 1994
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Paolo Maldini (AC Milan) (©Getty Images)
AC Milan 4-0 FC Barcelona
(Massaro 22 45, Savićević 47, Desailly 58)
OACA Spiros Louis, Athens
The UEFA Champions League underwent more cosmetic change in 1993/94. Rounds one and two still segued into the 'quarter-final' group stage; but where the mini-league winners had moved directly into the final the year before, now there were knockout semi-finals.
Barcelona advance
FC Barcelona topped Group A ahead of AS Monaco FC, FC Spartak Moscow and Galatasaray SK, then made home advantage count with a 3-0 semi-final win against Group B runners-up FC Porto at Camp Nou. Hristo Stoichkov with two goals and Ronald Koeman were the scorers. Meanwhile, Milan AC, undefeated by Porto, SV Werder Bremen and RSC Anderlecht, beat Monaco 3-0 at San Siro in the other semi-final. However, the yellow and red cards shown to Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta left the Italians without two key defenders for the final.
Demolition job
No matter. Fabio Capello's side made light of the handicap, their glorious 4-0 victory over the Catalan side in Athens giving credibility to the new-look competition. After all the talk of facelifts, here was a team to raise the spirits. Daniele Massaro gave the Rossoneri a 2-0 lead which star men Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly added to in the second half. Remarkably, the demolition job came against Johan Cruyff's so-called 'dream team'. Indeed, this was only the second reverse of Barcelona's European campaign, after a surprise 3-1 loss at FC Dynamo Kyiv in the second round. On this occasion, though, they did not have the escape clause of a return leg.
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