Cissé and Baroš give Liverpool a winning start against Monaco
Djibril Cissé opened the scoring and Milan Baroš settled the match late on as Liverpool beat the previous season’s Champions League finalists 2–0.
Liverpool · Season reference
2004–05
A historical reference entry. Original long-form writing appears in Articles.
- Manager
- Rafael Benítez
- League / division
- Premier League
- League finish
- 5th
- Top scorers
- Milan Baroš · 13 goalsSteven Gerrard · 13 goalsLuis García · 13 goalsAll competitive first-team matches
- Trophies won
- European Cup
Season overview
Liverpool won their fifth European Cup in Rafael Benítez’s first season after his arrival from Valencia. Trailing AC Milan 3–0 at half-time in Istanbul on 25 May, they drew level through Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso before winning the penalty shoot-out 3–2.
Gerrard’s goal against Olympiacos had helped secure a place in the knockout stages, where Liverpool overcame Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea. Luis García scored the only goal of the semi-final tie against Chelsea. He, Gerrard and Milan Baroš shared the club’s scoring lead with 13 competitive goals each.
The domestic campaign brought fifth place in the Premier League with 58 points, three behind Everton. Chelsea beat Liverpool 3–2 after extra time in the League Cup final, while Burnley ended their FA Cup run in the third round. Alonso and García were among the new arrivals, and Michael Owen left for Real Madrid.
Match reports
Explore 1 published report from 2004–05, in match order.
Domestic cups
- FA Cup
- Third round — lost 1–0 away to Burnley.
- League Cup
- Runners-up — lost 3–2 to Chelsea after extra time.
Europe
- European Cup
- Champions League winners — beat AC Milan 3–2 on penalties after a 3–3 draw.
Key players
- Steven Gerrard
- Luis García
- Milan Baroš
- John Arne Riise
- Jamie Carragher
- Steve Finnan
- Sami Hyypiä
- Dietmar Hamann
- Djimi Traoré
- Jerzy Dudek
- Igor Bišćan
- Xabi Alonso
Transfers
Significant senior moves. Fees are included only where established reliably; summer arrivals are grouped with the campaign they joined.
Transfers in
- Djibril CisséFrom AuxerrePermanent transfer
Joined in July 2004.
- JosemiFrom MálagaPermanent transfer
Joined in July 2004.
- Antonio NúñezFrom Real MadridPermanent transfer
Joined in August 2004.
- Xabi AlonsoFrom Real SociedadPermanent transfer
Joined in August 2004.
- Luis GarcíaFrom BarcelonaPermanent transfer
Joined in August 2004.
- Mauricio PellegrinoFrom ValenciaFree transfer
Joined in January 2005.
- Fernando MorientesFrom Real MadridPermanent transfer
Joined in January 2005.
- Scott CarsonFrom Leeds UnitedPermanent transfer
Joined in January 2005.
Transfers out
- Emile HeskeyTo Birmingham CityPermanent transfer
Left in May 2004 ahead of the new campaign.
- Markus BabbelTo VfB StuttgartFree transfer
Left in July 2004.
- Danny MurphyTo Charlton AthleticPermanent transfer
Left in August 2004.
- Michael OwenTo Real MadridPermanent transfer
Left in August 2004.
- Stéphane HenchozTo CelticFree transfer
Left in January 2005.
Important connections
In the History Explorer
Rafael Benítez · 2004–2010Related seasons
2003–04Interactive History
Explore this history
Istanbul 2005
Follow Liverpool and AC Milan from kick-off through the half-time change, the comeback and the final’s resolution. Pause to examine the teams, roles and evidence at each moment.
Sources & historical notes
Researched and checked 13 September 2026. These sources support this season’s statistics, transfers and historical account. Key players are an editorial selection.
- RSSSF: 2004-05 final league table Premier League finish, points, goals and records. Comparisons and margins calculated from the table.
- LFChistory: 2004-05 games Full competitive fixtures, dates, results and cup stages. Two-leg aggregates and league runs calculated from the fixture list.
- LFChistory: 2004-05 goalscorers All-competitive scoring, including qualifying rounds and other competitive trophies, excluding friendlies and shoot-out kicks.
- LFChistory: 2004-05 transfers Selected senior transfers and deal types; summer moves assigned to incoming campaigns. Date anomalies are documented rather than copied.
- LFChistory: 2004-05 appearances Competitive appearance totals supporting key-player selections.
- Liverpool FC: Rafael Benítez Arrival from Valencia in 2004; fifth European Cup, 2006 FA Cup and Super Cup, Athens final, 2008 semi-final and 2009 title challenge. Conditional claims about injuries changing the title outcome are not used.
- 11v11: Liverpool players, 2004–05 Independent corroboration that Baroš, Gerrard and García each scored 13 competitive goals.
- Liverpool FC: European Cup and Champions League Istanbul on 25 May 2005: three goals down at half-time, Gerrard, Šmicer and Alonso equalised, then Liverpool won the shoot-out 3–2.
- Liverpool FC: Steven Gerrard Olympiacos goal and Istanbul comeback; 23 competitive goals and PFA award in 2005–06, two goals in that FA Cup final; 24 goals and football writers’ award in 2008–09.
- Liverpool FC: Luis García Arrival from Barcelona, five goals on the way to Istanbul and the semi-final winner against Chelsea.
- LFChistory: 2003–04 transfers Heskey’s May 2004 move to Birmingham City is allocated to the incoming campaign.
- LFChistory: 2005 League Cup final Liverpool lost 3–2 to Chelsea after extra time.
Notes on the record
Overview evidence: paragraph 1 — lfc-benitez and lfc-european-cup; paragraph 2 — lfc-gerrard, lfc-garcia, lfch-games, lfch-scorers and afv-scorers; paragraph 3 — rsssf-league, lfch-games, lfch-league-final and lfch-transfers.
All three tied leading scorers are recorded. Istanbul shoot-out kicks are excluded from their totals. The Chelsea semi-final goal is recorded as awarded; no claim resolving the disputed goal-line incident is made.
Heskey’s May 2004 departure is recorded here rather than duplicated in 2003–04. The 2005 Super Cup and Club World Championship belong to the next campaign.