Kaká joy as Milan hit the heights

After scoring the first of AC Milan's three goals in their UEFA Champions League semi-final second-leg victory over Manchester United FC, Kaká hailed the return of "a great Milan".

Great Milan
The Rossoneri dominated in winning 3-0 at San Siro to secure a 5-3 aggregate triumph against their English rivals, and the Brazilian international was understandably delighted at inflicting such a significant defeat on Sir Alex Ferguson's side. "I'm really happy that we won and scored three goals in a match as special as the Champions League semi-final against Manchester United," he told uefa.com. "We played really well, put them under pressure from the very start, and I scored again. You saw a great Milan."

'Perfect match'
Carlo Ancelotti's men laid siege to the United goal from the kick-off and converted their early pressure into a lead when Kaká rifled in an angled shot from the edge of the area on eleven minutes. Clarence Seedorf struck again on the half-hour before Alberto Gilardino wrapped up the one-sided contest 12 minutes from time. The six-time European champions seemed to make light work of the Premiership leaders. "It was only easy because we made it easy," Kaká continued. "It's never easy to play against United because they have so many great players in their team. But we approached the game in the right way, we played really well from start to finish - you could call it the perfect match."

San Siro factor
Another contributory factor to the Italian giants reaching their eleventh European Champion Clubs' Cup final was the home support generated by 67,500 fans in full voice at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. "The crowd made a huge difference," the 25-year-old remarked. "At Old Trafford the crowd helped United and there's no doubt that the crowd at San Siro were tremendous. Our fans were quite decisive. You really feel it when you're out there on the pitch. Everyone is looking at you and willing you on. It's a quite unique sensation."

'Fantastic opportunity'
Playing in the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool FC, however, will not be new to the competition's ten-goal leading scorer. Kaká featured in the penalty shoot-out loss to Rafael Benítez's charges two years ago and is relishing this second chance. "You don't often get a second chance in a final. You don't often get to play in a final like this at all. I don't like to talk about getting our own back because what happened in the past has happened. More importantly, I have the opportunity to win my first UEFA Champions League and it's a fantastic opportunity for us all."