Markus Merk due to a foul on Dida by forward Julio Cruz. Inter ultras located in the curva behind Dida's goal reacted to the call by hurling bottles and burning flares onto the pitch. As Dida attempted to resume gameplay by clearing out the debris from his penalty area to take a goal kick, a flare struck him on his right shoulder, missing his head by inches. The match was halted as firefighters worked to clear the pitch while Dida received treatment for bruising and first-degree burns to his shoulder. After a half-hour delay, the game resumed with Christian Abbiati in goal but was abandoned less than a minute later after more projectiles rained down. UEFA officially awarded Milan a 3–0 win, resulting in Dida tying a Champions League record, then shared with Edwin van der Sar and Józef Wandzik, with his sixth consecutive shutout. Inter were later fined €200,000 (£132,000) by UEFA and ordered to play their next four European matches behind closed doors. In the semi-finals against PSV, Dida set a competition record with his seventh consecutive clean sheet in Milan's 2–0 first-leg victory on 26 April, but his scoreless streak ended at 623 total minutes following a Park Ji-sung strike in the ninth minute of the second leg on 4 May as PSV won 3–1, but the Rossoneri advanced to the final on away goals. Milan charged to an early 3–0 lead in the first half in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul against Premier League side Liverpool, who in turn rallied in the second half with three goals in a span of six minutes, the second being a strike from Reds midfielder Vladimír Šmicer that Dida got a hand to but was unable to keep out. The third came on a Xabi Alonso penalty saved by Dida before Alonso netted the rebound. With the match going to penalties after ending 3–3 in regulation and extra time, Dida stopped only from John Arne Riise as Liverpool won the shootout 3–2. He later faced press criticism for what was deemed a poor reaction to Šmicer's shot on goal. Dida was among five Milan players named to the inaugural FIFPro World XI at the end of the season, while he finished a career-best second for the 2005 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award, behind winner Petr Čech. He also made a nomination for Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year