Reuters

London, May 25: Liverpool's 2-1 defeat by AC Milan in the Champions League final was due to a controversial opening goal that came off the arm of striker Filippo Inzaghi, newspapers said on Thursday.

"Armed Robbery" was the front page headline in The Sun which said Liverpool's Champions League dream was "cruelly shattered" by Inzaghi's deflected opening goal on the stroke of halftime at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Wednesday.

Inzaghi, who also scored a fine second goal for Milan in the 82nd minute, ran into the path of Andrea Pirlo's free kick to send the ball past goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who was wrongfooted by the deflection that put Milan ahead.

"Robbed by the hand of Zag" was The Daily Mirror's front page headline next to a picture of Inzaghi being clearly hit on the arm by the ball that gave Milan a fortunate lead.

The Daily Express headline said; "Inzaghi ruins Athens Dream" and the paper reflected that: "It was a cruel blow from which the Reds never recovered and gave Milan the revenge they craved after losing this trophy to Steven Gerrard's men in Turkey..."

The front page of The Times said simply "Heartbreak", the paper reporting that two years after the "Miracle of Istanbul" - when Liverpool recovered from 3-0 down to force a 3-3 draw and victory on penalties - Milan got their revenge.

"Liverpool were left to reflect on a Greek tragedy last night as their hopes of lifting a sixth European Cup were ended by a Milan team whose thirst for revenge was sated with a win that led to tears of joy and despair at the Olympic Stadium."

The Daily Telegraph opted like most of the papers for a picture of dejected Liverpool captain Gerrard under the front page headline "Greek tragedy for Liverpool".

"Liverpool's drive towards the European cup ended on a hard shoulder here last night, Filippo Inzaghi's bony upper arm causing the English real pain," reported the broadsheet paper.

"Like the monsoon that briefly drenched Athens, disappointment swept through the ambitious emissaries from Anfield," the Telegraph added.

The Guardian ran the headline: "Liverpool have bravery but no breaks as Inzaghi inflicts Milan's revenge", adding "This was revenge for Milan as they atoned for the famous fiasco against Liverpool in 2005 but neither club last night struck the heights they had attained in the past two months."