Luis Garcia Scored His Famous 'Ghost Goal' For Liverpool Against Chelsea On This Day In 2005

It's 17 years to the day since Luis Garcia scored his famous 'ghost goal' against Chelsea and fans are still not sure whether the ball crossed the line.

Garcia's goal sent Liverpool through to the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, where they would come from three goals down to beat AC Milan on penalties in one of the greatest games in history.

Liverpool could book their place in yet another Champions League final this evening if they beat Villarreal in the second leg of their semi-final tie, with Jurgen Klopp's side holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg at Anfield.

Back in 2005, it was Chelsea who were Liverpool's opponents in the last four of the competition.

The first leg at Stamford Bridge had ended in a goalless draw to leave the tie delicately poised heading into the second leg at Anfield.

And it burst into life just four minutes into the reverse fixture on Merseyside.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard played a chipped through-ball over the top of the Chelsea defence, which striker Milan Baros attempted to reach before Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Baros managed to get a touch on the ball before being brought down by Cech in front of the Kop.

#OnThisDay in 2005, @luchogarcia14 sent us to Istanbul 😍 pic.twitter.com/eBNbIm4fPN

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 3, 2022

As the home fans pleaded for a penalty and a red card, Garcia latched onto the loose ball and directed a shot towards goal which deflected off Chelsea captain John Terry.

William Gallas raced back towards goal to make a desperate clearance on the line as Garcia wheeled away in celebration.

After a few moments of confusion, the Slovakian referee Lubos Michel signalled that the goal had been given, sending Anfield into a state of euphoria.

Rafael Benitez's side would go on to grind out a 1-0 aggregate win to book their place in the final in Istanbul.

The goal remains hugely controversial to this day, with Chelsea and Liverpool fans in disagreement over whether the ball crossed the line.

Chelsea's manager that day, Jose Mourinho, dubbed it the "ghost goal" after the match and insisted it should not have been given.

"It was a goal that came from the moon – from the Anfield stands," Mourinho said at the time.

"I felt the power of Anfield, it was magnificent. I felt it didn't interfere with my players but maybe it interfered with other people and maybe it interfered with the result."

Mourinho doubled down on those claims in 2019, telling beIN Sports: "Anfield is a magic place to play, it is a beautiful place to play.

"They can even score goals that the players don't score, like it happened in 2005.

"It wasn't Garcia that scored the goal, it was the crowd that scored the goal, but now it isn’t possible with VAR and goal-line technology."

Should the goal have been given? Let us know your thoughts.