AC Milan 1 Liverpool 3: Reds suffer huge early scare but put Forest woes behind them with dominant Champions League win
NOBODY could have blamed boss Arne Slot for thinking “suits you, sir” after this scintillating comeback triumph.
Early disaster turned into a San Siro stroll, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk powering in headers to turn the game around — the first time two Liverpool central defenders have scored in a Champions League game.
Dominik Szoboszlai added an elegant third to help turn his manager’s 46th birthday into a back-slapping celebration.
It is Milan fashion week with models strutting their stuff on catwalks across the city.
Slot arrived amid sudden doubts about whether he is right to be trying to give his players a makeover after succeeding Jurgen Klopp.
He sees the new style he is fashioning as one that can make the side Premier League champions again and maybe, again, overlords of Europe in a different garb of a more cautious, possession– based game.
That approach was suddenly left with tattered holes in it during last Saturday’s 1-0 win by Nottingham Forest.
Slot’s side were flat and mainly uninspired, failing to unzip a rearguard action designed to frustrate and hustle.
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s brilliant strike put the cap on the defeat that left Slot as shocked as anyone.
After three straight wins without conceding a goal to start his reign the Kop — yet to fully throw its voice behind him — were asking serious questions.
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Yet while Slot wants less of the attacking chaos of Klopp’s regime and more control, this was more like a throwback to the German’s heavy metal vibes
Although the night could hardly have got off to a worse start for him.
He made two changes following the Forest defeat, Cody Gakpo in for Luis Diaz and Kostas Tsimikas replacing Andy Robertson. By the third minute the Greek left-back will have wished his boss had not bothered as Milan took the lead.
He was left stranded by a lighting raid down his flank, ignited by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
His quick clearance was pounced up by Christian Pulisic, with two team-mates powering alongside him.
Konate panicked and was drawn out of position while Pulisic, one of four former Chelsea players in Paulo Fonseca’s line-up charged inside.
Before Alisson knew what had hit him the American attacker had fired across the goal and into the far corner.
Pulisic was joined in celebration by his ex– Stamford Bridge team-mates Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Alvaro Morata and Fikayo Tomori while the stadium’s famous Curva Sud went wild.
Poor start
Slot and his team had the blues at the point for they were all over the place and their near-4,400 travelling fans, stuck high up in the gods, were fretting once again.
But gradually Liverpool gained a foothold in the game, encouraged by centre-half Strahinja Pavlovic who made a pig’s ear of playing out from the back.
His side survived as Slot’s men swarmed but they were still level by the 23rd minute and the equaliser could not have been simpler either.
Trent Alexander-Arnold clipped in a free-kick from the left, up leapt Konate and completely unguarded headed home. Suddenly Slot’s men were in business again, the kind that had produced that stunning three-game start to the season.
Diogo Jota tore into the box and sent a right footer wide when he should at least have tested Maignan.
Mohamed Salah hit the woodwork with a reflex strike and soon after, slightly off balance, another effort cracked off the junction of bar and post.
Reds fight back
This was seven-times Champions League winners against the six of Liverpool but it was the Reds who were finding their rhythm and above all their confidence again.
Jota broke clear to find Salah. There was more majesty from Anfield’s Egyptian King this time only for Maignan to fingertip wide. But Liverpool grabbed the lead on 41 minutes, Tsimikas swung the corner in from the right, and Van Dijk nodded in.
Seconds before the break it would have been three but for Maignan brilliantly turning aside a real bullet from Gakpo.
Frenchman Maignan was forced off after a nasty collision with Tomori as Jota swooped in for the kill.
Liverpool finished the showdown with 23 shots — 11 on target — and two of those against the woodwork.
And just to underline their superiority, Szoboszlai contributed a gliding finish in the 67th minute in the victory that was first about substance but in the end was about real style, Slot’s or not.