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Liverpool bounced back from defeat at the weekend by beating AC Milan 3-1 in their first Champions League game under Arne Slot.
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A riveting first half saw Liverpool’s centre-backs reign supreme, with Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk scoring from close range after Christian Pulisic had given Milan an early lead.
Dominik Szoboszlai provided a third for Liverpool in the second half to secure an important victory on matchday one of the new-look Champions League.
How the game unfolded
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After falling to a 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest at the weekend, Liverpool were in desperate need of a reaction in their Champions League opener. However, they were handed an early blow to the nose instead as Milan raced into the lead after just three minutes.
Some poor defensive work down Liverpool’s left-hand side allowed Pulisic to sprint unchallenged towards Alisson’s goal and the former Chelsea winger fired a low drive beyond the Brazilian into the far corner.
After a shaky start to proceedings, Liverpool started to find their feet after 15 minutes and came close to an equaliser through Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian’s quick feet manufactured a shooting opportunity but his powerful right-footed effort slammed the underside of the crossbar.
Liverpool didn’t have to wait long for their leveller though. The 23rd minute offered the Reds their route back into the match after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delicate cross was nodded home by Konate from just six yards out.
The visitors swiftly found themselves in the ascendancy as Diogo Jota fluffed a fantastic opportunity and Salah hammered the crossbar for a second time, but Van Dijk’s close-range header did eventually hand Liverpool a deserved one-goal advantage heading into the break.
Liverpool’s evening could have got much better just moments after the restart but Jota’s effort was well smothered by Mike Maignan, with the Milan goalkeeper swiftly withdrawn due to injury after denying the Portuguese.
Slot’s men did eventually grab the all-important fourth goal of the game and it was the brilliance of Cody Gakpo that helped Liverpool secure their two-goal cushion. The Dutchman broke clear of the Milan defence and glided beyond Strahinja Pavlovic before setting Szoboszlai up for a simple finish.
Van Dijk came close to a brace when he headed over from another dangerous Liverpool set piece and Darwin Nunez snatched at two half-chances after replacing Jota from the bench. However, Slot’s side had already done the hard work and eased to a significant three points to kick off their Champions League campaign.
