Rafael Benitez was left to bite his lip in frustration at the lost minute which cost Liverpool any hope of a Champions League miracle in Athens.

Trailing to AC Milan but buoyed by Dirk Kuyt's last-minute header, Benitez's men entered what should have been three minutes of stoppage time desperately searching for a leveller.

Instead, the Liverpool coach could only seethe in frustration as German referee Herbert Fandel blew up after just two minutes and 44 seconds, which included an AC Milan substitution that should have seen an extra 30 seconds played.

Clearly unhappy, Benitez made his feelings known to Fandel and the new UEFA president Michel Platini as he went up to collect his loser's medal.

''It is not an excuse but I am disappointed,'' said Benitez. ''After Dirk scored, we were confident we could get another but I was surprised by the lack of time.

''It could have made a difference but in the end, I suppose you need to score in the 90 minutes.''

Benitez felt his side were in control until Filippo Inzaghi fortuitously deflected Andrea Pirlo's free-kick past Pepe Reina in the final minute of the opening period.

The goal transformed the contest as, from being in a relatively comfortable position, Liverpool were forced to chase the game in a manner that offered Kaka and Pirlo a chance to open them up.

A second arrived eight minutes from time when Kaka brilliantly set up Inzaghi for his second, ensuring Kuyt's header proved nothing more than a consolation.

''We were going forward and creating chances and overall I felt we were controlling the game,'' said Benitez.

''Then Milan scored a bad goal from a deflection, which meant we had to go forward more and leave bigger spaces.''

Not for the first time this season, Benitez was left to lament his side's failings in front of goal.

Despite having more than twice as many shots, Liverpool could not find the target when it mattered.

In his role just behind lone striker Kuyt, Steven Gerrard wasted three chances, John Arne Riise skied a couple and the introduction of Peter Crouch made no significant difference in the final 15 minutes.

The problem cannot have escaped Benitez's attention, although there was little he could have done about it this evening.

''You cannot change things in one or two weeks,'' he said. ''You have to work hard at it for a long time. The players are doing their best and I cannot complain about that.''

However, while Benitez can take immense pride in leading Liverpool to a second Champions League Final in three seasons, when he sits down with new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks today to discuss a strategy for the future, he knows major surgery is required if the 21-point gap to Premiership champions Manchester United is to be closed.

''We can improve and we are trying to improve, but we need to go forward more than one step at a time,'' he said. ''I hope we get the backing to do that. If we want to be close to Manchester United and Chelsea and to have another chance in the Champions League, we need to go two steps at a time.''