Jose Mourinho says he has only seen "fans score a goal" once in his career to date.
The AS Roma manager was speaking in a press conference ahead of their Europa League last-16 clash against Real Sociedad when he was asked about whether the atmosphere inside the Reale Arena will play a factor on Thursday night.
He admitted that the atmosphere will naturally lift a team on home soil.
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But after a brief pause, he went on to make a reference to the 2005 Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea, when Luis Garcia scored the now-infamous 'ghost goal' to seal a famous win.
Garcia latched onto a loose ball and directed a shot towards goal that 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.
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Then, after a few moments of confusion, Slovakian referee Lubos Michel signalled that the goal had been given, sending Anfield into a state of delirium.
Rafael Benitez's side would go on to grind out a 1-0 aggregate win to book their place in the final in Istanbul, while Jose Mourinho was left furious by the controversial events.
"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."
In fact, 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.
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"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."
And now, 18 years on from the incident, Mourinho brought up Garcia's goal again in the build-up to Thursday's Europa League clash in San Sebastian.
"Of course the atmosphere helps the home team but you still have to play," Mourinho said.
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"I haven't seen fans score a goal, except that one time in 2005 during the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea semi-final. The fans made so much noise and it counted as a goal against us when the ball wasn't in."
It remains a hugely controversial moment to this day. Was it a goal?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Real Sociedad TV/YouTube - AlamyTopics: Jose Mourinho, AS Roma, Liverpool, Chelsea, Premier League, Real Sociedad, Europa League
