Premier League champions Liverpool suffered a shock defeat in the first game of their pre-season tour of Asia, with a 4-2 loss at the hands of AC Milan. Arne Slot’s experimental side were caught out on the counter-attack multiple times by their experienced opponents, who had the wily Massimiliano Allegri back in the dugout outsmart his Dutch counterpart.
Rafael Leao scored a clinical opener to open the scoring inside 10 minutes, but Dominik Szoboszlai made sure that the Reds went in at half time level with a superb curler into the far corner. Ruben Loftus-Cheek stroked in Milan’s second to get the Serie A outfit back in front in the second half, and they were two ahead when Swiss striker Noah Okafor swept home a sumptuous third from Alexis Saelemakers’ pick-out.
Cody Gakpo made things interesting late on as his header found the corner, but that was swiftly cancelled out by Okafor’s second of the game, as he seized upon a glaring mistake by Giorgi Mamardashvili to make it four and hand Liverpool a humbling defeat.
Liverpool vs AC Milan latest news
- Okafor seizes upon Mamardashvili error
- Gakpo halves deficit
- Okafor sweeps in No3
- Loftus-Cheek nets a second
- Szoboszlai scores a pearler
- Rafael Leao opens scoring
FT: Liverpool 2-4 AC Milan
14:31 , Oli GentThere we have it.
A defeat in their opening game of their pre-season tour of Asia. Back to the drawing board for Arne Slot, who may not experiment so much next time out...
Liverpool 2-4 AC Milan
14:25 , Oli GentGoal! 90+4 mins: Oh no! What a glaring error from Mamardashvili, who is well out of his goal and he plays a sloppy pass that Tsimikas doesn’t want. Okafor races onto the loose ball, and taps into the unguarded net.
Liverpool 2-3 AC Milan
14:23 , Oli GentGoal! 90+3 mins: Gakpo has his goal, and Liverpool halve the deficit. A lovely floated ball from Konate finds the Dutchman, who guides the header back across goal and into the corner. 3-2.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:20 , Oli Gent90 mins: Four added minutes.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:16 , Oli Gent87 mins: Close! What a pass from Morton as Gakpo breaks into the box, but he skews his effort into the side-netting from close range!
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:14 , Oli Gent85 mins: Saelemakers and Thiaw are replaced, as Vittorio Magni and Matteo Dutu come on in their places.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:13 , Oli Gent83 mins: Doak has hardly had a sniff since he came on for Wirtz at half time. He’s selflessly looking to run the channels and link play, but he’s having no such luck in front of goal at the moment.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:09 , Oli Gent80 mins: Liverpool aren’t getting any closer as Doak and Nyoni link up. It comes back to Nyoni, who is off-balance as he hits the shot, and he fires over the top.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:08 , Oli Gent77 mins: More changes from Max Allegri as Tomori comes off for Terracciano, and Comotto is on for Ricci.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:04 , Oli Gent74 mins: Wide! That’s great feet from Frimpong to burst away from Estupinan, who he sits down. He chips it up to Gakpo at the far post, and it comes out to Morton who strikes, but he blazes it over.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
14:00 , Oli Gent72 mins: Free kick, Milan. Ben Doak, who is cutting a frustrated figure up top, commits the foul on Ricci.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
13:59 , Oli Gent69 mins: It’s still not quite gelling for Liverpool in the final third. The patterns of play to get themselves up the pitch are nice, but there’s no real bite to their attack. Perhaps that’s where Ekitike will come in handy...
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
13:57 , Oli Gent66 mins: Could Frimpong’s position here be telling for where Slot sees him this season? He’s playing as a more advanced right-winger, with Conor Bradley behind him at right-back. Might we see him operate further forward than expected this term?
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
13:54 , Oli Gent64 mins: Tyler Morton is back on - no injury, it turns out - and he replaces Gravenberch.
For Milan, Estupinan is on for his debut to replace Bartesaghi, Samuel Chukwueze is on for Leao, and Loftus-Cheek comes off for Warren Bondo.
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
13:52 , Oli Gent62 mins: Close! Gravenberch lines one up from range, taking a touch and flashing a strike that needs tipping over from Terracciano on its way over!
Liverpool 1-3 AC Milan
13:50 , Oli GentGoal! 60 mins: What a shock this is proving to be! What a finish from Noah Okafor, as Saelemakers breaks down the right. He’s got wide open space to run into, and he finds the Swiss in the middle. Okafor makes no mistake as he sweeps home emphatically!
Liverpool 1-2 AC Milan
13:49 , Oli Gent55 mins: Close! Trey Nyoni shows some great twinkletoes as he tries to dance his way through in the Milan box. He doesn’t get the shot off, and it comes to nothing.
Liverpool 1-2 AC Milan
13:42 , Oli GentGoal! 52 mins: Liverpool are caught on the counter once more as Okafor links play and feeds Leao, who is on his bike. He finds Loftus-Cheek in support, and the ex-Chelsea man finds the corner with a neat finish!
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:41 , Oli Gent52 mins: As for Milan, there are four substitutions to report,
Pietro Terracciano is on in goal, Matteo Gabbia replaced Pavlovic at the back, while Yunus Musah is on for Fofana in midfield. Noah Okafor partners Leao up front with Pulisic sacrificed.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:40 , Oli Gent50 mins: Changes were afoot for both sides at the break.
Liverpool: Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Tsimikas, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Jones; Gakpo, Nyoni, Frimpong; Doak.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:38 , Oli Gent48 mins: Close! Cody Gakpo has a swipe in his first action since coming on at the break, but it whizzes over the top!
Kick off
13:36 , Oli Gent46 mins: We’re back in action.
HT: Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:18 , Oli GentThere’s the interval, and we go in level. Leao opened the scoring to finish a clinical counter, but Szboszlai equalised with a sumptuous finish into the far corner.
What will the second half have in store?
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:17 , Oli Gent45 mins: One added minute.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:16 , Oli Gent44 mins: What a mess! It’s a bit more end to end now as Leao produces a superb airshot in the box with time to strike, and Liverpool look to counter through Ngumoha. The left winger is causing problems for Saelemakers down the flank, but nothing comes of it this time.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:14 , Oli Gent42 mins: Close! That would have been a heck of a goal, from both Robertson and Salah. Ngumoha does well to wriggle away from his man, and it ricochets for Robertson and then Salah who both have half-volleyed efforts, but the first is parried by Maignan and Salah’s is wide.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:11 , Oli Gent39 mins: Besides the two goals, there’s not been too much action to report. There’s been plenty of back and forth in the middle third of the pitch, but no real penetration from either side in the their respective boxes.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:08 , Oli Gent35 mins: Tyler Morton is coming off for Trey Nyoni. It seems as though the makeshift centre-back is injured.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:04 , Oli Gent32 mins: Close! Wirtz takes the ball under his spell wonderfully, but just forces Elliott a bit wider than he’d have liked. However, the midfielder collects, and feeds Salah. The right-winger looks up and aims for the far corner with a curler, but he’s just about high and wide with his effort.
Liverpool 1-1 AC Milan
13:01 , Oli Gent29 mins: Close! The Reds come agonisingly close to a quick--fire second as Salah teases an inswinger in, and Szoboszlai attacks it, but Thiaw is there in the nick of time to flick a header behind!
Liverpool team news
10:20 , Oli GentThe Reds named a 29-strong squad for their Asian campaign, and first-choice goalkeeper Alisson could be in line for his first start of pre-season after new deputy Giorgi Mamardashvili started both their friendly matches so far - in the 3-1 win over Preston and the 5-0 victory against Stoke behind closed doors. Luis Diaz, who wants to leave Anfield, could also make an appearance.
AC Milan team news
10:13 , Oli GentThere were supposed to be three notable absentees for Milan with injury concerns, but it appears that all have recovered in time to make the matchday squad.
The first is Mike Maignan, their first-choice goalkeeper, who was a target for Chelsea earlier this summer.
Next is Alex Jimenez, the right-back, and box-to-box midfielder Youssouf Fofana.
As such, Max Allegri’s side are at full strength, and have former Brighton left-back Pervis Estupinan as their latest signing, and he could make his debut for the Rossoneri today from the bench.
How to watch
10:09 , Oli GentTV channel: In the UK, the game will be broadcast live on LFCTV. Coverage starts at 11.30am BST ahead of an 12.30pm kick-off.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via All Red Video (formerly LFCTV GO). A monthly subscription starts at £4.99.
Hello and welcome!
09:59 , Oli Gent... to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Liverpool’s pre-season friendly clash with AC Milan in Hong Kong. Stay tuned for all the updates, with kick off at 12.30pm BST.
