Three months later, in the curtain-raiser to the 2006–07 season, he headed the winning goal for Liverpool in the club's 2–1 victory over Chelsea in the FA Community Shield. In their 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign, he scored his first goals in European club competition against Maccabi Haifa. Crouch sustained a broken nose when playing against Sheffield United in February 2007. Although he played in some subsequent matches, on 9 March 2007, it was announced that he would undergo surgery on the injury that would keep him out of football for a month. On 31 March, he returned to action after the operation and scored the first hat-trick of his club career, coming against Arsenal in a 4–1 victory. This was also a so-called "perfect hat-trick," consisting of goals scored from his right foot, left foot and head. He later participated in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, coming on as a substitute for Javier Mascherano as Liverpool were defeated by Milan in Athens. He ended the 2006–07 season as Liverpool's top goalscorer in all competitions, with eighteen goals.