AC Milan vs Liverpool LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as Arne Slot’s men complete comeback win
AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool: Goals from Konate, Van Dijk and Szobozslai secured a comeback win for the Reds
Arne Slot celebrated a first European victory as Liverpool head coach as his team defeated AC Milan 3-1 at the San Siro to kick off their Champions League campaign with a win.
Things started horribly for the Reds though as Kostas Tsimikas was caught out of position allowing Christian Pulisic to nip into the vacant space and slot home a superb finish with barely two minutes on the clock.
Liverpool responded brilliantly though. They controlled play and dictated the tempo against a deep defensive block. Mo Salah, who twice hit the crossbar, and Cody Gakpo looked hungry to score but the equaliser came courtesy of a defender.
Trent Alexander-Arnold flicked in a free kick and found Ibrahima Konate who nodded past an injured Mike Maignan to pull Liverpool level. A second set piece, this one a corner, put the visitors ahead with Virgil van Dijk heading home.
Late in the second half, Dominik Szobozslai volleyed home a cross from Cody Gakpo to secure the points and send the Reds marching on.
Relive the action with our live blog below:
GOAL! AC Milan 1-0 Liverpool (Christian Pulisic, 3 mins)
There’s the opener!
Mike Maignan boots the ball out to the right wing where Kostas Tsimikas comes forward to challenge for the aerial ball. Christian Pulisic beats him in the air and nods it to Alvaro Morata who returns the ball to him.
Pulisic flies into the vacant space, takes the ball into the box then smokes a low effort across goal and finds the inside of the far post!
AC Milan 0-0 Liverpool
2 mins: Danger!
Rafael Leao collects the ball on the left wing and darts inside before feeding a pass in behind the Liverpool defence. Tijjani Reijnders makes the ball and receives the ball before squaring it into the six-yard box.
Virgil van Dijk back tracks but clears it just as the offside flag goes up.
Kick off! AC Milan 0-0 Liverpool
Liverpool get the ball rolling at the San Siro and send it long. The ball drops into the AC Milan half and gets cleared all the way back to Virgil van Dijk who controls it and starts to slowly build out from the back.
AC Milan vs Liverpool
Here come the teams. Virgil van Dijk leads out Liverpool at the San Siro. AC Milan have edged the head-to-head meetings seven to six.
Will Liverpool draw level tonight? Kick off is up next...
AC Milan vs Liverpool
How will Liverpool go tonight then? Aston Villa have just completed a fantastic victory over Young Boys. Can the Reds pick up the three points as well?
AC Milan vs Liverpool
This is Liverpool’s 49th season of European competition and their 28th campaign in the European Cup/Champions League.
It is only the fifth European clash between the two sides who previously met in the 2005 and 2007 finals of the Champions League and twice during the competition’s group stage in 2021-22.
AC Milan vs Liverpool
This is Liverpool’s 16th Champions League campaign; they have reached the final five times, lifting the trophy in 2005 and 2019.
The Merseyside club last featured in 2022/23, finishing second in their section behind Napoli before being edged out by Real Madrid in the round of 16.
The vital question behind Arne Slot’s hopes of following Liverpool’s Champions League giants
Arne Slot knows that he walks in the footsteps of giants at Liverpool. A realist is aware certain references to them are inevitable, particularly of his immediate predecessor. There are times he mentions Jurgen Klopp before anyone else has. And yet, for one night only, the most relevant comparison is not with the German.
Slot’s opening night with Liverpool in Europe, a date with AC Milan, is an instant reminder of Rafa Benitez’s greatest night. If ‘the miracle of Istanbul’ has competition for Liverpool’s most famous game in Europe, it comes from Klopp’s surreal demolition of Barcelona in 2019. There will be other echoes of the 2005 Champions League final in Slot’s debut European campaign on Merseyside: Xabi Alonso, scorer of the equaliser in that 3-3 draw, visits Anfield with Bayer Leverkusen in November and, had he wanted to, perhaps could have been in the home dugout then.
The vital question behind Arne Slot’s Champions League hopes
AC Milan vs English opponents
The Rossoneri faced English opposition at home in last season’s Champions League, drawing 0-0 against Newcastle United at San Siro. They subsequently won 2-1 away on Matchday 6 to seal third place in Group F.
That was only Milan’s second victory against English clubs in 13 games (three draws, eight defeats), since a 4-0 success against Arsenal in the 2011/12 round of 16 first leg.
The victories against Arsenal, Spurs in the 2022/23 round of 16 first leg and Newcastle are Milan’s only wins in their last 21 games against Premier League opponents with six draws and 12 losses in that run.
AC Milan vs Liverpool
The two sides last faced each other at San Siro in the Champions League group stage in 2021, with the visitors getting the win.
Fikayo Tomori had put Milan into the lead before goals from Mo Salah and Divock Origi completed a comeback victory for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool who triumphed 2-1.
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