After three minutes of their UEFA Champions League opener, Liverpool suffered an almighty shock as Christian Pulisic netted for AC Milan to delight the home fans in the San Siro. However, the Premier League side recovered absolutely superbly and ended up scoring three times to finish with an emphatic scoreline away from home and get their European campaign off to a strong start.
Virgil van Dijk was among the scorers as Liverpool marked their return to UEFA Champions League football and their first match in the competition under Arne Slot with a 3-1 comeback victory at AC Milan.
Liverpool slowly took control of the proceedings and pulled level when Ibrahima Konate headed in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s left-wing free kick on 23 minutes.
Paulo Fonseca’s hosts made the perfect start when Alvaro Morata set Christian Pulisic free to fizz a low shot past Alisson on three minutes.
The Merseysiders then moved in front when Van Dijk nodded home Kostas Tsimikas’ right-wing corner.
The away side had gone close through Diogo Jota and hit the crossbar twice via Mohamed Salah, but they did finally establish a two-goal cushion when Dominik Szoboszlai guided home Cody Gakpo’s cut back to seal victory 23 minutes from time.
Next up, Liverpool return to Premier League action at home to Bournemouth on Saturday while AC Milan visit neighbours Inter in Serie A on Sunday.
After a perfect start to life under Slot prior to the international break, criticism and concerns were raised at the manner of Liverpool’s shock Premier League loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
A response was expected but there was another early wobble here before they took a grip of the game in the same confident way they have won their first three matches under the Dutchman without conceding.
Making full use of the squad and getting the best out of all of his players will be key to Liverpool managing a heavy workload across three competitions in the weeks ahead, with Kopites very much hoping this sort of performance and result is going to be more like the norm. Indeed, this will quieten doubters and suggests the Forest loss looks like being more of an anomaly in their first campaign post-Jurgen Klopp.
The Dutchman impressed on a rare start as he won the free kick that led to the equaliser and then produced a solo moment of magic to tee up Szoboszlai for the third. Attacked with purpose throughout his time on the pitch and looked more like the player that ended last season well and enjoyed a strong Euros with Holland.
MILAN: Maignan 6, Calabria 6, Pavlovic 6, Tomori 6, Hernandez 6, Fofana 6, Loftus-Cheek 6, Pulisic 7, Reijnders 6, Leao 6, Morata 6. Subs: Torriani 6, Emerson 6, Abraham 6, Gabbia n/a, Okafor n/a.
LIVERPOOL: Alisson 7, Alexander-Arnold 8, Konate 8, Van Dijk 8, Tsimikas 6, Gravenberch 8, Mac Allister 8, Salah 7, Szoboszlai 8, Gakpo 8, Jota 6. Subs: Nunez 6, Diaz 6, Gomez 5, Endo n/a, Chiesa n/a.
LIVERPOOL: Alisson 7, Alexander-Arnold 8, Konate 8, Van Dijk 8, Tsimikas 6, Gravenberch 8, Mac Allister 8, Salah 7, Szoboszlai 8, Gakpo 8, Jota 6. Subs: Nunez 6, Diaz 6, Gomez 5, Endo n/a, Chiesa n/a.
Matchcast and commentary
Match Highlights
3’ – GOAL! AC MILAN 1-0 LIVERPOOL (PULISIC): The visitors are caught cold down the right as Pulisic charges clear on to Morata’s hooked pass and rifles a low shot into the far corner.
17’ – LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Salah takes Jota’s pass and surges to his right into the penalty area, but sees his rising shot crash back off the crossbar.
23’ – GOAL! AC MILAN 1-1 LIVERPOOL (KONATE): Konate leaps highest to thump a header beyond Maignan from TAA’s left-wing free kick.
29’ – LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Gakpo surges down the left and forces a low save out of Maignan from a narrow angle. Salah picks up the pieces but sees another attempt fly back off the crossbar!
41’ – GOAL! AC MILAN 1-2 LIVERPOOL (VAN DIJK): The Merseysiders take the lead! It’s another set piece, this time it’s a corner from Tsimikas that van Dijk meets with a bullet header at the near post.
67’ – GOAL! AC MILAN 1-2 LIVERPOOL (SZOBOSZLAI): Gakpo drives on to Szoboszlai’s pass, charges past his man on the left side of the area and drills a cross back into the path of Szoboszlai for the Hungarian to guide home from close-in.
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
