Juve avenge Champions League loss against Milan

Juventus won the Italian Super Cup with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over European Cup holders AC Milan after a fiercely competitive match had ended 1-1 after extra time yesterday. Juventus defender Ciro Ferrara beat Milan keeper Christian Abbiati from the spot to complete the win after man-of-the-match Gianluigi Buffon had parried Milan midfielder Cristian Brocchi’s penalty.

Gerrard off as Liverpool lose

Amsterdam: England midfielder Steven Gerrard and striker Neil Mellor were sent off as Liverpool lost 2-1 to Galatasaray in the Amsterdam tournament on Sunday. Both players were dismissed in the last five minutes of a bad-tempered game. Mellor was handed a straight red card for clattering into Gabriel Tamas. Gerrard, booked earlier for a foul on Berkant Goktan which prompted an angry confrontation between opposing players, then swiftly followed for comments made to Dutch referee Rene Temmink. Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier said he did not expect Gerrard or Mellor to be banned becuase the match was a friendly. Reuters

However, it was the silver-goal extra time which provided most drama for the 54,128-strong crowd at Giants Stadium as Marcello Lippi’s side earned a modicum of revenge for their defeat, also in a penalty shoot-out, to Milan in the European Champions League final in May.

The Rossoneri thought they had won it when, following a foul by Alessio Tacchinardi on Massimo Ambrosini, midfielder Andrea Pirlo converted a cheeky penalty past Buffon in the 15th minute of the first extra time period.

But wild celebrations were cut short just seconds later when, straight from the restart, David Trezeguet turned home a rebound from close range to force a second period of extra time.

The 90 minutes had started brightly, with France striker trezeguet twice forcing smart saves from Abbiati with first half headers.