AC Milan v FC Barcelona MATCH PRESS KIT Giuseppe Meazza, Milan Tuesday, 18 April 2006 - 20:45 CET Semi-finals - Matchday 11 AC Milan have never lost a UEFA Champions League semi-final and the Rossoneri will want to extend that sequence to five successes when they welcome FC Barcelona to San Siro for the first of what should be two enthralling encounters between superpowers of the European game. Goals galore · The Italian club will hope to lay the foundations for a second successive appearance in the final of Europe©s leading club competition by maintaining their imperious home form. They saw off FC Bayern München and then Olympique Lyonnais in the knockout rounds with second-leg victories by 4-1 and 3-1 respectively at San Siro. None of the other semi-finalists boast such potent results on home soil. · In this season©s tournament they have scored 13 goals in five games at San Siro, bagging three on three occasions and four on another. Since losing two home fixtures in the 2003/04 group stage, they have won 12 of 13 matches on their own turf with PSV Eindhoven, in this season©s group, the only visitors to escape unbeaten. Lyon fright · However, Milan did not arrive at this stage without an almighty fright in their quarter-final against Lyon. They were within two minutes of elimination on away goals when Filippo Inzaghi struck for the second time on the night to take his tally to four in this season©s competition. That puts him five behind Andriy Shevchenko who tops the UEFA Champions League scoring chart with nine. Nine meetings · Milan and Barça have played each other nine times - over six ties - with the Italian side edging things with four victories compared to three for the Catalan outfit. · Their most memorable meeting came in the 1993/94 final, which produced the largest winning margin of the 13 UEFA Champions League finales to date. Milan won 4-0 in Athens in a masterly display of attacking football that blew Johan Cruyff©s fancied team away. Magnificent seven? · To further their ambitions of adding a seventh European Champion Clubs© Cup to their trophy cabinet, Carlo Ancelotti©s side will seek inspiration from their home record against Spanish opposition - rather than the statistics for home and away combat, including group fixtures, against teams from that country. · They show more defeats than wins ± nine to eight in 17 confrontations. In addition, Milan lost to Real Madrid CF in the 1957/58 European Cup final in Brussels, a 3-2 defeat after extra time. · Of 17 home games against visitors from Spain, Milan have won eleven and drawn two with four losses. · In the 1959 European Cup first round, the first encounter between the clubs, Milan succumbed 2-0 to Barcelona at San Siro. However, they triumphed by 1-0 in their latest meeting in last season©s group stage through Shevchenko©s first-half goal. In the 2000/01 first group stage, the teams produced a 3-3 draw in the same stadium. Thanks to Ambrosini · In the 2004/05 semi-final against PSV Eindhoven, Milan were also at home in the first leg, gaining a 2-0 lead through Shevchenko and Jon Dahl Tomasson. However, the away game was nowhere near as comfortable and it required an added-time goal from Massimo Ambrosini to take them through on away goals after the Dutch hosts won 3-1. Last Updated 17.4.2006 10:16:44CET uefa.com 1 AC Milan v FC Barcelona MATCH PRESS KIT Penalty heartbreak · In the final in Istanbul, Milan went 3-0 up against Liverpool FC only to suffer heartbreak as the English side staged an incredible comeback and eventually prevailed on penalties. Assured progress · Barcelona©s progress to this stage was more assured ± following a 0-0 draw at SL Benfica in the quarter-final first leg with a 2-0 success at Camp Nou, their goals coming in either half from Ronaldinho - the competition©s second-top scorer with seven - and Samuel Eto©o. But there were frustrations along the way with a host of spurned opportunities in Lisbon and a missed early penalty by Ronaldinho in the home match. No wins · Aside from their victory on their first visit, Barcelona have not won in four subsequent trips to San Siro, losing twice with the other two games - one of them against FC Internazionale Milano - ending all-square. · It is a record that runs on similar lines to their overall record in Italy with the majority of the 13 fixtures ending without a Barça victory after five draws and four defeats. Home recovery · However, a close look at Barcelona©s record in home-and-away games, including group stages, against Italian opposition shows they often recover ground with an impressive home display. · In 13 home-and-away ties, the Catalan club have emerged with a favourable outcome on eight occasions. Of those 13 home matches, only two have been lost, one of them to Milan, a 2-0 reverse in the 2000/01 first group stage. Last year©s revenge · They beat the same opponents 2-1 at home in last term©s group stage, with Eto©o levelling matters after Shevchenko had put the visitors ahead. Ronaldinho then registered the winner with a minute remaining. Super Cup clash · The teams, both competing in their tenth UEFA Champions League campaign, also faced off in the 1989 UEFA Super Cup with Milan prevailing thanks to a 1-0 victory at San Siro following a 1-1 draw in Spain. Unbeaten runs · After three successive away defeats in last season©s tournament, Frank Rijkaard©s side have stayed unbeaten on their travels with three wins and two draws. They have conceded just a single goal in those five outings and that was an own goal. · Confidence for the return leg on 26 April will come from their unbeaten run at Camp Nou. Following their home loss to Juventus in the quarter-final second leg in 2002/03, they have gone undefeated in nine matches there, winning seven and drawing two. · Against visitors from Italy, Barça have suffered two defeats with eight victories and three draws. Successive wins · Milan©s 2-0 triumph at Camp Nou in 2000/01 was one of three wins in Spain which arrived in succession in the space of three seasons. They have lost three of their last four visits with the other game finishing as a draw. Fourth semi-final · It is Barcelona©s fourth UEFA Champions League semi-final and their first since 2001/02 when they bowed out 3-1 on aggregate to Real Madrid CF. Last Updated 17.4.2006 10:16:44CET uefa.com 2 AC Milan v FC Barcelona MATCH PRESS KIT · Their only triumph in the European Cup came when they dismissed Italian opponents UC Sampdoria 1-0 in the 1991/92 final at Wembley. Coincidentally, the same team suffered when Barça lifted the 1988/89 UEFA Cup Winners© Cup in Berne with a 2-0 victory. Match facts · Milan need one more victory for their 100th win in the European Champion Clubs© Cup. · Aside from leaving the pitch in the 69th minute on Matchday 7, Dida has been a constant presence in the Milan ranks throughout this season©s UEFA Champions League campaign. · Dida made it 50 appearances in the UEFA Champions League in the 3-1 victory against Olympique Lyonnais on 4 April. · Apart from Dida, Andrea Pirlo, Kaká and Andriy Shevchenko have each played some part in all ten games to date. · Gennaro Gattuso is second in the list of players who have committed most fouls (33) in this season©s UEFA Champions League. Two more fouls would take him clear of PSV Eindhoven©s Jefferson Farfán. · Serginho and Andrea Pirlo need just two more UEFA Champions League appearances for their 50th in the competition. · Cafu and Rui Costa have each played 46 times in Europe©s premier club competition. Both will have to wait for next season to reach their half-century, even if Milan reach the final and they play every game. · The visit of Barcelona will mark Carlo Ancelotti©s 50th UEFA Champions League match in charge of Milan. · Jaap Stam and Gattuso made it 75 appearances apiece in UEFA club competition last time out against Lyon. · Clarence Seedorf is bidding for his fourth UEFA Champions League winners© medal. He won with AFC Ajax in 1994/95, Real Madrid CF in 1997/98 and Milan in 2002/03. No other player has ever won the trophy with three different clubs. · Paolo Maldini already has four winners© medals, having played in the 1989, 1990, 1994 and 2003 successes for Milan. Alessandro Costacurta, who turns 40 on 24 April, played in three of those triumphs, missing out in 1994 when Barcelona were crushed 4-0. · Of the 14 players used against Lyon on 4 April, only Kaká did not have a UEFA Champions League winners© medal. All were involved in 2002/03 except Jaap Stam who won the trophy with Manchester United FC in 1998/99. · Frank Rijkaard and Carlo Ancelotti both played in the Milan triumphs of 1989 and 1990. · Andriy Shevchenko is the leading scorer in this season©s UEFA Champions League with nine goals. Kaká has struck five times. · Shevchenko has also had more shots on goal (27) than any other player in this season©s competition. · Shevchenko is just three goals from Ruud van Nistelrooij©s record in one UEFA Champions League season. The Dutch striker scored 12 times in the 2002/03 campaign.