Liverpool's captain Stever Gerrard holds the trophy as his teammates celebrate, after Liverpool's victory in the the UEFA Champions League Final between AC Milan and Liverpool at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey,Wednesday May 25, 2005. Liverpool won the match 3-2 on penalties. (AP)

Mounting one of the greatest comebacks in soccer history, Liverpool won Europe's club championship for the first time since 1984.

Liverpool became the first team to overcome a three-goal deficit in the Champions Cup final, beating AC Milan 3-2 on penalty kicks following a 3-3 tie Wednesday night.

``I don't think anyone has seen a game like that. I cannot believe we've just won,'' Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said. ``People will be talking about that game in 20 or 30 years.''

Liverpool, which finished fifth this season in England's Premier League, won the title for the fifth time, scoring three goals during a seven-minute sequence early in the second half. En route to the Champions League title, Liverpool eliminated newly crowned Italian and Premier League champions Juventus and Chelsea.

``We were massive underdogs at the beginning of the competition,'' Liverpool captain Steve Gerrard said. ``I didn't think we were going to go all the way.''

In the finale of the 50th Champions Cup, the teams combined for the most goals in a final since Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5-3 in 1962.

AC Milan's Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko were stopped by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek during penalty kicks after Serginho missed the net.

``Our three best penalty kickers were the ones who missed,'' AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. ``It was a very strange game. I thought we deserved to win.''

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini got the first goal just 52 seconds in, at 36 becoming the oldest player to score in a final. Hernan Crespo added goals in the 39th and 43rd.

``We were talking at halftime about how we need to do something and change things; if we can score it will be different,'' Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said.

Gerrard started the comeback with a goal on a header in the 54th minute off a cross from John Arne Riise.

``There were a few heads down at halftime. The manager made a few changes and put some belief in the players,'' Gerrard said.

Vladimir Smicer made it 3-2 with a low shot in the 56th, and Xabi Alonso tied it in the 60th on the rebound of his penalty kick, which goalkeeper Dida had sprawled to save.

The game went to 30 minutes of overtime, and Dudek stopped 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 forth on the goal line, he dived to his right and batted away 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 Riise, and Kaka tied it for AC Milan. Smicer then gave Liverpool a 3-2 lead, and Shevchenko's kick down the middle was saved by Dudek.

``Nights like this one are difficult to accept,'' Shevchenko said. ``I had to score. There was pressure on me, but I did not think about anything while kicking. Dudek was very good to use his leg to deflect.''

Liverpool's title was its first in the tournament since its fans rioted at the 1985 final in Brussels, Belgium, causing the death of 39 spectators and leading to a lengthy ban from European competition for English clubs. Under current rules, Liverpool won't be able to defend its title because only the top four teams in the Premier League qualified for next year's competition.

(Agencies)