Evening all Franco Baresi has termed this the "Derby of Europe" - and while it may not boast the mutual hatred, sectarian abuse or severed pigs heads of some other great derbies tonight's game does give us an opportunity to see the two most successful sides in European Cup history going at it. These two teams have won the tournament 16 times between them (Real Madrid nine, Milan seven) and despite the fact the Rossoneri have been some way below their usual standards of late, this is the sort of European fixture it's hard not to get excited about.

Anyway, I shall be back shortly with some pre-match musings, but in the meantime I should probably let you know that you can follow Chelsea v Atletico Madrid with Rob Smyth's minute-by-minute report here, and you can read Barry Glendenning's take on today's match between CSKA Moscow and Manchester United, that one you didn't realise was kicking off early, here.

Throughout the night you can keep up with all the latest goals on our rather spiffing live scoreboard. On the other hand, if it's a picture of a Komodo dragon perching on a rock wondering what to do next you want to see, you'd probably be better off clicking on this link here.

In the meantime, why not pass the time having a punt on tonight's games, subscribing to our free daily football email The Fiver, it's cricket and rugby counterparts The Spin and The Breakdown, or our bi-weekly chart-topping football podcast Football Weekly.

Annoyingly ... Uefa's media centre has starting line-ups for every game tonight except this one. I can only assume Leonardo has formulated a cunning ruse to start Alessandro Nesta in all 11 positions but wants to keep it under wraps until the last possible moment.

Team news Nope - the teams have just come across the wires. My new baseless assumption is that the Uefa bod responsible is just polishing off his ninth and penultimate course of lunch before getting down to business. Anyway, no huge surprises in the starting line-ups; quite a few pundits had predicted Madrid would drop the out-of-sorts Karim Benzema, but he keeps his place while for Milan Pippo Inzaghi is back in the starting line-up after coming off the bench during their win over Roma.

Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Albiol, Marcelo, Kaka, Lassana Diarra, Alonso, Granero, Benzema, Raul. Subs: Dudek, Arbeloa, Mahamadou Diarra, Drenthe, Garay, Van der Vaart.

AC Milan: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta, Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Alexandre Pato, Inzaghi, Ronaldinho. Subs: Roma, Kaladze, Huntelaar, Flamini, Jankulovski, Borriello,

Antonini.

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

Email v1.0 "I was trying to think up a witty comment linking the komodo dragon and Milan's lack of goalscoring ability when you mentioned Sandro Nesta," writes Angharad. "Poor man, he was obviously dragged in front of the press yesterday because he's the only sane one left, now that Maldini's buggered off. What a disaster for which to come back from a year injured."

"I predict an epic snooze-fest. People falling over their own feet, their opponents' feet, their teammates' feet, and the ball on all parts of the pitch, no goals, and Raul pouting. Oh, and Pippo Inzaghi being called offside. Sixteen times."

Some fair comment there but I actually couldn't disagree with you more on the prediction of no goals. I think Milan will get beaten tonight, because despite the win over Roma on Sunday, there are significant flaws right through the team. On the other hand I think they will score, because on nights like this they - and Inzaghi in particular - have a knack of just somehow finding a way. So I'll say 3-1 full-time.

A further reason not to expect a 0-0 draw Nelson Dida is in goal for Milan.

Kaka has a massive grin on his face ... As he gives his former team-mates each a pre-game hug. He has promised not to celebrate if he scores tonight, but has also said he is keen to do what he can to knock Milan out - so that Madrid don't have to play them again later.

1 min One more piece of statistical trivia as we get underway - Milan have played away to Madrid five times in the European Cup and never won. They drew once, back in 1989. As one Gazzetta dello Sport editorial remarked this morning, if they couldn't beat Madrid at the Bernabeu when they were on top of their game, what shot do they have now?

3 mins Inzaghi is flagged for offside. Get used to hearing that.

4 mins "Here's Pirlo," yelps the Sky commentator as a red-and-black blur flies towards the Madrid area. I am briefly shocked at the speed of movement, until I realise the man in possession is, in fact, Alexandre Pato. He is dispossessed on the edge of the box.

6 mins Early doors but the pattern so far seems to be this: Madrid move the ball about neatly in midfield, but lose it when they get into the final third. [Insert Milan defender's name here] then lumps a hopeful ball up in the direction of Pato. Madrid regain possession. Repeat.

7 mins Madrid win the first corner of the game, but Granero's inswinger from the left is headed clear by Seedorf.

8 mins Another Madrid corner, this time from the right, and this time it's Nesta who rises unchallenged to nod it away.

10 mins Thiago Silva dawdles on the edge of his own box and nearly loses the ball to Benzema but wakes up just in time to jab the ball back to Dida. Given that he gave away a goal in almost identical circumstances against Roma, you might have thought he would try and avoid that sort of thing tonight.

12 mins One thing you may not know about Thiago Silva, incidentally, is that if you type his name into google, the first suggestion is actually for a UFC fighter by the same name. Or at least I think it's a different person by the same name. Who knows, maybe he's moonlighting? Granero has what I believe is tonight's first shot on target - jabbing the ball tamely into Dida's arms from 15 yards out after a cross from the right.

14 mins Huge appeal from the home crowd as Zambrotta brings down Benzema from behind in the area. My initial reaction was that the defender had got a toe to the ball first, but after looking at the replays I'm less certain - Benzema had him well beaten as he surged towards the right-hand corner of the six-yard box and Zambrotta might just have nicked the ball as he reached with his left leg, but his right knee went straight into the back of the striker's heels. Milan may have dodged a bullet there.

16 mins Another Madrid corner, this time an outswinger that does find Albiol, albeit way back on the far edge of the area and his header fails to clear the defender immediately in front of him.

GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Milan (Raul, 19 mins) Dear, oh dear, oh dear. What did I say about Nelson Dida? After some tidy build-up work from Madrid Granero scuffed a lame effort towards goal from the edge of the D. It goes straight to Dida, who seems to have it under control but then drops the ball onto his own knee, from where it deflects to Raul, who jabs it home. Farcical.

21 mins Gosh that goal was poor. Milan have an absolute mountain to climb already, because they've posed no threat up front so far whatsoever.

23 mins Returning to my pre-goal chain of thought, I have decided Silva is definitely too baby-faced to be a cage fighter. His fellow Brazilian Serie A star Felipe Melo used to dabble in mixed martial arts, though. Of everyone in this Milan team I'd say Inzaghi probably has the most potential as a UFC contender. Sure, he's a bit weedy but he's also got a feistiness to him. Plus let's face it, he'd cheat.

25 mins Inzaghi. Offside. You know the drill. Actually I have to say that was pretty much the best move Milan have strung together all night - Seedorf wriggling free of two men down the left to swing in a low cross that was maybe half-a-yard too far in front of Inzaghi, who stretched a toe out but could only jab the ball wide. It's a good thing he did, actually, because replays suggest he wasn't offside at all.

27 mins "You were right," sighs Angharad. "I should have looked at the line-up before I predicted 0-0. Then I would have realized Nelson 'Mr. Fumble' Dida was in goal. 6-0 to Real, maybe? I'm still predicting Raul will end up pouting before the night is out, though."

28 mins Massimo Oddo pumps an angled ball up from just inside the half towards Inzaghi in the area. I'd say that's never going to work, what with Pippo being about 4ft 6ins, but to be honest it just might - Madrid's defence don't look entirely comfortable dealing with the high balls and if they do let one bounce he's still the man you'd want in there waiting for it.

30 mins OK, we're half an hour in now, so I think it's now fair to say I've been deeply underwhelmed with Madrid. They've been the better side, but frankly that's not saying a lot because Milan have been toilet. These are the nights Florentino Perez wanted when he launched his latest galactico project - Champions League games against high-profile opponents - but so far the game itself has not lived up to biling.

33 mins Pato has a little sit down after an aerial collision with Alonso. A couple of Milan players have a half-hearted grumble to the referee.

34 mins First contribution of note, ish, from Ronaldinho, who gives himself a glimpse of goal with a little body swerve on the left before hammering a shot into the nearest white shirt.

35 mins Another nervous moment for Dida as Benzema scoops out a chip from 25 yards that has the keeper back-pedalling frantically but lands on the roof of the net.

37 mins Another corner for Madrid. Another simple clearance for Milan.

39 mins After Madrid win yet another corner on the left Granero decides to take a new tack - rolling a short pass to Raul, taking the return and then ... slicing a cross wildly off his right boot and away towards the far touchline. That was rubbish.

41 mins "I'm quite touched by this trend for not celebrating goals scored against former clubs which the scorer left on good terms," writes Gary Naylor - in response to Kaka's pre-game comments. "But it seems only fair - and, if we're honest, great fun - to allow players forced out by fan power/stupid managers/being benched regularly to do the opposite and give it the full Adebayor. I think we can rely on Craig Bellamy to do the (in)decent thing in quite a few matches this season."

43 mins Diarra becomes overwhelmed with boredom and thrashes a drive wide from 25 yards. The crowd react as if it's gone six inches wide but in reality it was closer to six feet.

45 mins Kaka drives into the Milan box and hooks the ball back across the six-yard area, but Nesta manages to half-clear before a team-mate puts the ball behind for, yup, another corner. Which comes to nothing.

45 mins (+1) Sharing Diarra's weariness at the failure of Madrid's strikers to do any, y'know, shooting, Marcelo lets fly with an absolute rocket from 30 yards out that Dida can only parry away to his left. Thankfully for him Zambrotta, rather than Raul is on hand this time to collect the loose ball.

Peepety-Peeeep That's half-time at the Bernabeu. Back in a tick with half-time thoughts.

Nikolaj Moller wanted me to share this with you, so I have.

So ... Madrid will obviously be the happier side, what with the 1-0 lead and all, but honestly I can't imagine this is what Perez had in mind when he put this team together over the summer. Milan have showed very little ambition, but if they can come up with a plan better than 'let's just wait until Madrid's defenders make a mistake', they may find it's far from impossible for them to get back into this game. That said, my prediction at this stage is still that Madrid will win - and will probably score again at some stage. Hopefully not just because Dida gifts it to them.

Incidentally I only realised about three minutes before half-time that I had failed to put my email address in the standfirst. It's there now though, so if you fancy sharing your thoughts on this game/Nelson Dida/footballers who would make better cage fighters than Thiago Silva then you know where to go with them.

Oh, and I'm not sure whether to be impressed or troubled that several of you managed to email me anyway.

46 mins We're off again. Seedorf just kicked Marcelo, just to get things going.

47 mins Granero finds himself in acres of space after Silva charges up to meet the Madrid player in midfield and somehow ends up going straight past him. Granero then slips the ball to Raul, who cuts inside Oddo but skews his attempted shot across the face of Dida's goal.

49 mins Inzaghi. Offside. By about 78 yards.

50 mins Kaka, who has been largely disappointing tonight, chances his arm from a central position about 25 yards out (you may spot a pattern forming here), but his low, skiddy effort, goes wide of the Dida's left-hand post.

51 mins Far more impressive from Kaka, who uses a neat body swerve to get a yard on Oddo just to the left of the six-yard box before flicking the ball towards the far corner of Dida's net. The keeper is equal to the effort, though, palming it away before Milan rush down the other end and Inzaghi sees a relatively tame effort gathered by Casilias.

53 mins Milan win their first corner of the game after Inzaghi attempts to nutmeg Pepe down by the right touchline. The same defender gets his head ot the ensuing delivery, however, and Madrid clear.

55 mins Raul catches Nesta napping and rushes onto a throughball inside the Milan area, but for reasons best known to himself attempts to chip Dida, who was very much still on his line. I know it's Dida, but still.

57 mins "After having mistakenly played professional football instead of rugby league until the age of 40, surely it's not too late for Dean Windass to make it in the cage," muses Jimmy McManners as Pato crashes a shot into Raul Albiol's thighs. This game may finally be getting a little livelier.

58 mins I think I should clarify my last comment - the tempo of this game has definitely been raised, but the quality of passing is still woeful. Twice Milan's defenders win the ball deep in their own half, twice they give it straight back to Madrid and twice the home side return the favour. Bleugh.

60 mins "Yeah, I didn't manage to search for your email before when it wasn't up," says Robin Hazlehurst. "I was quite impressed when you first said Thiago Silva is a UFC fighter (12 mins) because I had no idea what UFC meant and thought it might be like some Star Wars thing, and that a Thiago Silva was an interspace jet-fighter as flown by Hans Solo or something. Which sounds pretty impressive, as I doubt my own name would ever be used as a cool sounding super space age ace fighter plane thingy. (Yours neither)." Milan have brought Marco Borriello on for Inzaghi. Borriello's a genuine target man, so it might make sense from a 'we're only going to pump balls at him anyway' perspective, but he's also not played in months.

GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Milan (Pirlo 62 mins) Wow. Seriously, wow. I looked up from my emails just in time to see Pirlo let fly with a speculative but meticulously placed effort from 30, maybe more, yards out that caught Casilias totally cold and snuck into the corner of the net. Utterly stunning.

64 mins That was absolutely breathtaking, though you have to think Casilias could have done better given how far out the shot came from. Anyway, Pirlo's given everyone an idea now, with Zambrotta fizzing an low effort of his own from about five yards closer in just wide of Casilias's left-hand post.

GOAL! Real Madrid 1-2 Milan (Pato 66 mins) Simply Unbelievable. Ambrosini clips an angled ball from the half-way line into the path of Pato, Casilias - seemingly overanxious to make up for his lack of concentration a moment ago - charges forward to meet Pato outside his area, and the striker simply steps round him to stroke the ball into an empty net. God knows what the two Madrid centre-backs were playing at letting him have that sort of space, but somehow Milan are ahead.

69 mins "You may also want to inform your readership that they need to reload the whole page to find your email address, the auto-updater won't do it," says Greg Scully as Kaka Wings a shot into Pirlo's midriff. Madrid have just sent Royston Drenthe on for Granero.

72 mins Madrid win a free-kick right on the edge of the box after Raul is clumsily brought down. Somehow when they come to take it Madrid are about five-yards further back, but I guess that suits them. The ball is rolled to Alonso, whose drive is deflected behind for a corner ...

73 mins ... which is cleared only as far as Kaka, but his effort is charged down.

75 mins Madrid have finally started playing with some urgency - only took them an hour and a quarter - but some of the passing remains very poor. "What are your views on Pirlo at this point," asks Vincenzo Perrone in New York. "Does he actually have much left in the tank? I feel like he plays 7 games where he looks like he has no interest then goes on to boss the next game or score a belter against Madrid! What's going on?" I would tend to agree with your assessment Vincenzo - I've actually found him a massively frustrating player for more than a season now - one who dwells far too long in possession and often disapperas from games altogether, but then raises himself just when you're about to write him off. Sadly I think it's just a case of age catching up with him - he's still got the talent, but he just doesn't have the energy levels required at the top of the game.



GOAL! Real Madrid 2-2 Milan (Drenthe 76 mins) At last, a Madrid corner pays dividends. This time Raul abandoned hopes of trying to put the ball into the middle and instead sent it directly to Drenthe as he lingered dep four or five yards outside the penalty area and the Dutchman took one touch to control the ball before cracking a low drive straight into the bottom left-hand corner.

78 mins Almost a very quick response from Milan, as Ronaldinho - another one who seems capable of raising himself only for the briefest of spells in any given match these days, drives insistently into the area on the left before cutting the ball back beautifully to Seedorf with a flick of his right boot, but the midfielder snatches at it and sends the ball some way over the bar.

81 mins "Casilias was asleep on the first, and tried to do too much on the second," sniffs Don Evans. "No way Madrid play at home in the Champions League final, with that kind of keeping."

82 mins Pirlo seems to have injured himself while trying to move past Sergio Ramos, and has gone to the sideline for treatment.

84 mins Well it looked for a moment as if we were in for another argument about goalline technology as Nesta hooked a Raul effort away from right on the line, but it turned out the flag was already up for offside. The chance had fallen to Raul after Dida fumbled a shot by Kaka, incidentally.

86 mins Madrid are very, very lucky not to be behind again after what looked like an own goal from a Milan corner is chalked off for no apparent reason. The ball was bundled in at the near post - I'm not sure if it came off Thiago Silva or a Madrid defender last - and replays show no evidence of wrongdoing by Milan, but the referee made his decision and both teams will have to live with it. Only after a heated set-to, mind, which sees Nesta and and Raul booked even though it appeared as though it was Ronaldinho who slapped someone in the melee.

GOAL! Real Madrid 2-3 Milan (Pato 88 mins) Well, you would have to say that's justice. Seedorf received the ball inside the area, opened his body and curled a wonderful pass into the path of Pato, who strode forwards to volley it home with aplomb. Not for the first time tonight the Madrid defence just seemed to lose track of him - they've looked more than a little shoddy.

90 mins Dida is at full-stretch to turn an Alonso effort around the post and from the corner Sergio Ramos heads over for Madrid. What an absurd game.

90 mins (+1) Ronaldinho trots very slowly off to be replaced by Mathieu Flamini.

90 mins (+2) Marcelo gives the ball away to Oddo and then clatters into the Milan defender as he canters forward in possession. Marcelo gets a deserved booking.

Peep! Peep! Peeeeep! There you have it, Milan - so, so poor in the first half - leave the Bernabeu with a win that ultimately feels deserved, especially in the context of the disallowed goal. I've said it a few times already tonight but both teams really were poor for large stretches - giving the ball away cheaply and playing with no sense of urgency, but once Pirlo had brought Milan back into the game both raised the tempo and while there were still a lot of mistakes it became a very enjoyable game. On tonight's evidence it's hard to see either side winning this tournament, but Madrid were without Ronaldo and besides, expectations formed in October are often defied in May. Sorry for the mix-up with the email address and thanks for all those you did send in the second half. Sorry I couldn't use more.