Liverpool Return to Winning Ways as Goals From Van Dijk and Konate Seal a Memorable Win at San Siro

Following a shock defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forrest, the pressure was on Liverpool to get a positive result in the Champions League opener. And they didn’t disappoint. The Reds secured an impressive 3-1 victory over AC Milan at the San Siro.

However, Liverpool’s victory was far from straightforward. Just three minutes in, they found themselves behind as Christian Pulisic opened the scoring with a fine finish into the bottom-right corner of Allison’s goal. Several Liverpool fans feared the worst, as Arne Slot’s men looked leggy. But after the early exchanges, Liverpool started to grow into the game. The team looked much more up for the challenge and started to dominate the ball and create several chances. Liverpool’s talisman Mohamed Salah had the first big chance, but his right-footed shot struck the post in the 16th minute. However, Liverpool weren’t to be denied in the 23rd minute, when Trent Alexander-Arnold's inch-perfect freekick was nodded in at the back post by Ibrahima Konate. 

Undeterred by the roaring San Siro, the Reds continued their assault on AC Milan’s goal. In the 29th minute, Dutch winger Cody Gakpo jinked past two Milan players before unleashing a fierce shot across the goal, which was saved by Mike Maignan. On the ensuing rebound, Salah struck the woodwork again. With the score tied 1-1, Liverpool continued to probe and in the 40th minute, the Reds finally had their deserved lead. Virgil Van Dijk rose the highest to nod in Liverpool’s second of the night from a Kostas Tsimikas corner. Van Dijk’s goal meant that Liverpool went into the halftime break with a deserved lead. 

The second half started in a similar fashion, as Milan failed to convert their possession into anything of notice. On the other hand, Liverpool looked threatening every time they went on the attack. Despite being the home team, Paulo Fonseca’s men could only muster two shots on target during the game. Milan’s lack of a goal threat would soon come back to haunt them, as Dominik Szoboszlai doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 67th minute. After taking a two-goal lead, Liverpool were firmly in control of the game as Milan failed to create any noticeable chance. However, in the dying embers of the match, Rafa Leao came within inches of reducing the deficit, as his shot cannoned off the crossbar. 

Although Szoboszlai, Van Dijk and Konate will receive most of the plaudits for Liverpool’s incredible comeback win, the most impressive performers on the night were Dutch duo, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch. Gakpo was an absolute nightmare for Milan’s defense—his movement was unpredictable, and once he got on the ball, he was nearly impossible to stop. He tore through the Milan backline with his driving runs, slicing them apart time and again. Meanwhile, Gravenberch was the engine behind Liverpool’s comeback. He orchestrated the turnaround by picking the ball up deep, pressing high to win it back, and delivering a few exquisite early passes that completely shifted the momentum in Liverpool's favor.  

Following their victory at San Siro, Liverpool face Bournemouth at home on Saturday in their next game. As for their next Champions League tie, the Reds face a visit from tournament newcomers, Bologna, two weeks from now.  

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