REDS NOT AN ENGLISH TEAM

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has branded Liverpool the worst English team to reach this season’s Champions League semi-finals.

And he has described a Reds team of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher as “a Mediterranean team which lacks the DNA of the English”.

Ancelotti’s curious critique has turned up the heat ahead of next week’s Athens final. The Milan coach said: “On a technical level, they are the worst of the three English teams to reach this season’s semi-finals. But that does not mean I would have chosen to be playing them in next week’s final. I would have preferred Manchester United. That’s partly because we got a view of them in the semi-final both at Old Trafford and San Siro and partly because they are a technical squad who play and let you play. I don’t get the feeling that will be the case with Liverpool.”

Ancelotti declared that the Reds have lost touch with their roots under Benitez. He said: “Milan will always have a strong Italian quality because, even with foreigners like Kaka and Seedorf, we remain true to our influences, philosophy and beliefs. But Liverpool don't have an English DNA any more. They are more like a Mediterranean team and that comes from their coach.”

Ancelotti has been boosted by the availability of captain Paolo Maldini.

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