We have no argument with AC Milan winning the competition. There was nothing fluky about the rossoneri’s challenge for the European crown, and even if Milan was slightly outplayed by Liverpool for much of the Champions League final, it was a deserving winner of the continent’s premier event. In particular, we thought the dominating 3-0 win over Manchester United in the second leg of their semifinal matchup might have been one of the best displays by any team in a big match all season.

Moreover, in a sport where new faces pop up all of the time, and old ones disappear, there was something almost comforting about watching Milan go about its business in the Champs League. The likes of Paolo Maldini (left), Pippo Inzaghi, Clarence Seedorf, Cafu, and Gennaro Gattuso have all been around for more than a few years (way more than a few years, in fact), and if it was indeed a last hurrah for the core of the Milan side, they sure went out on style. For a moment or two, it was if we were watching a match from the late ‘90s, when most of the above mentioned were at the height of their powers. Combined with newer forces such as Kaka, Alberto Gilardino, and Andrea Pirlo, Milan was a handful when it was on song (as Man U painfully discovered May 2).

And, by us, we didn’t have a huge problem with Milan being allowed to participate in the Champs League this season, either. Itss point deduction from the Serie A penalties a year ago still allowed it to technically qualify. Now, we’re not sure there wasn’t a bit of arm-twisting going on at the corridors of Serie A and UEFA to get Milan eligible, in which case we might look at the rossoneri’s involvement with more of a jaundiced eye. But Milan’s play in the Champs League was mostly upbeat, and the competition, for this season, at least, would have been poorer without them.

Liverpool again put on a solid show, with the Reds continuing to gain quite a reputation under Rafa Benitez as a team to be reckoned with on the biggest stages. That Liverpool seems to focus more on the Champs League than English Premier League action under Benitez is no mistake; the Reds’ priorities are definitely in Europe, and domestically, they seem to perform just well enough in EPL play to get an invitation to the following season’s Champs League, while also focusing their attention on Cup play. Although Benitez was able to deliver silverware each of the past two seasons (Champs League in 2005, FA Cup last year) and couldn’t this year, this campaign was hardly a failure. Liverpool came within a whisker of its second Champs League crown in three seasons, and will be back again as usual in the continent’s glitziest competition next fall. Along the way, midfielder extraordinaire Steven Gerrard (right) continues to establish himself as one of Europe’s top big-match performers.

We wonder, however, if the Chelsea revolution is destined to continue falling short in the Champions League. Three times in the past four seasons, Chelsea has made it as far as the semifinals, only to be turned away before it could reach the finale. And this season’s painful shootout loss to Liverpool might have hurt even more than falling short against the Reds at the same stage two years ago. How long Jose Mourinho will stick around Stamford Bridge is another question, and we suspect that the championship window might be open for perhaps only one more year with the current, mostly-aging flock of superstars Roman Abramovich has assembled.

It was also not a year for upstarts in the Champions League. Whereas a surprise package or two have often managed to slip into the knockout phase in recent campaigns, that wasn’t the case this season. France’s Lille might have been the longest shot to make it through the group phase, and it was mostly heavyweight vs. heavyweight down the stretch. And, ironically, England failed to produce the winning Champs League entry despite having three of the four quarterfinal teams!