Liverpool were beaten 4-2 by AC Milan in their pre-season friendly at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday night.
On the eve of the first leg of their Asia tour concluding, the Reds fell behind to a Rafael Leao goal but went in level at half-time courtesy of an excellent Dominik Szoboszlai strike.
Milan took a large step to secure the Standard Chartered Trophy after the break, though, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Noah Okafor on the mark in a decisive seven-minute spell.
A stoppage-time Cody Gakpo header gave Liverpool brief hope but a defensive mix-up allowed Okafor to immediately restore a two-goal lead with the last kick.
Liverpool will now travel to Japan on Sunday for the remainder of their tour, facing Yokohama F. Marinos in their next friendly on Wednesday.
Team
Alisson Becker made his first appearance of pre-season as Arne Slot once again fielded almost entirely different teams in each half.
Liverpool first half: Alisson, Stephenson, Gravenberch, Van Dijk, Robertson, Morton (Nyoni, 32), Szoboszlai, Salah, Elliott, Wirtz, Ngumoha.
Liverpool second half: Mamardashvili, Bradley, Konate, Tsimikas, Kerkez, Jones, Gravenberch (Morton, 62), Nyoni, Gakpo, Doak, Frimpong.
First half
Respects were paid to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva before kick-off, with Liverpool players wearing black armbands and jerseys etched with Jota’s name.
One side of Kai Tak Stadium formed a mosaic reading ‘DJ 20’ and Sir Kenny Dalglish laid a wreath beside those supporters.
When the match began, there were early efforts at both ends. First, Alisson got down low to thwart Christian Pulisic after the Reds had squandered possession in their own half.
Szoboszlai and Leao drew routine saves with strikes from distance before the Serie A outfit took the lead on 10 minutes, courtesy of the latter.
Leao was sent into space down the left flank on a Milan counter-attack and was able to move into a shooting position with Liverpool exposed. The forward thumped a finish into the roof of the net from an angle.
Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz almost combined fruitfully but their series of short passes around the box were cut out as the former tried to set up the latter.
Nevertheless, Liverpool soon levelled in style. Rio Ngumoha troubled Milan down the left and sent the ball back to Szoboszlai, who arced a fine curler over Mike Maignan into the top corner.
The Milan goalkeeper had to react quickly within moments, repelling a low hit from the lively Ngumoha after more slick footwork created space.
The Reds were enjoying the upper hand and Salah went close to recreating Szoboszlai’s goal from the other side of the area, only to place the finish too high.
Breakaways were proving effective for Milan and another gave Pulisic the chance to line up a daisy-cutter from the edge of the box, though it drifted wide.
Salah whipped a rebound, first-time volley wide of the right post and Alisson beat out Pulisic’s latest effort from close range shortly before an entertaining first half concluded.
Second half
Liverpool began the second half brightly and Gakpo swerved a decent strike over the opposition goalframe within a minute of the restart.
However, a double-punch from Milan put them in control ahead of the hour mark.
Leao’s pace took him away in the left channel on 52 minutes and he unselfishly moved the ball to the supporting Loftus-Cheek, who nudged low past the reach of Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Their lead was stretched further with 59 on the clock, Alexis Saelemaekers running free on the right flank and squaring for Okafor to crack in a clinical effort on the first touch.
Ryan Gravenberch’s final input before being substituted was a long-range attempt that flicked off the top of the crossbar.
As Slot’s men sought a way back into the contest, Jeremie Frimpong was a productive outlet. The Dutchman was denied from an angled drive having superbly brought down Gakpo’s crossfield pass.
Later, Frimpong tore past his marker on the side of the area and sent the ball into the middle. It ultimately ran out to Tyler Morton, whose sliced shot skewed wide.
On an evening when a new record attendance was set at Kai Tak Stadium, the match ended with stoppage-time goals from each team.
Gakpo arced a fine header into the top corner from an Ibrahima Konate lofted cross, only for an error at the back to present Okafor with a simple tap-in.
SOURCE: www.liverpoolfc.com
No comments:
Post a Comment