Humble pie

Well, not so humble really, Yes, Liverpool lost, but they played much better than they did two years ago. They should have won based on the run of play; they dominated the first half, but just before the break Alonso, who had given away a couple of free kicks through reckless tackling earlier in the game, ran into an opponent in a dangerous area just outside the penalty box.

They say that good teams earn their luck, and Milan were certainly rewarded well when the free kick that followed hit one of their own players and was deflected past the already committed Reina in goal. What a fluke!

That obviously completely changed the scenario and despite some clever tactical changes in the second half by Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, the Reds lost 2-1. However, the Liverpool players can hold their heads high and have any favourite pies of theirs, if you ask me.

Finally one has to acknowledge AC Milan's European pedigree and in particular admire their captain, Paolo Maldini, who personally has five European Championships, as many as Liverpool FC itself. Impressive!

By the way, we are off on a week's holiday in France now. On our way to the house in Normandy we will stay two nights in St Quentin in the north. For some time we have nurtured the idea of relocating in France to somewhere closer to Germany. Then we could possibly go there at weekends even. So quite often we stop over on our way in order to check out a town or area, but every time we arrive at the house in Normandy we realise that any other place would have to be something special in order to beat our rural paradise.