Liverpool 2-0 Milan: Awful outing in Santa Clara shows work needs to be done

By Alex Viola -

Following a pretty good showing in Chicago on Wednesday night (local time) against German champions Bayern Munich, rossoneri fans had a reason to be confident heading into the game in California against Liverpool. However, that was not to be the case as Milan, debuting their new alternate kit, fell to the Reds 2-0 in a horrid perfomance. 

Montella, looking for three consecutive wins put out a Milan with four changes from the penalty shoot-out win over Bayern. That lineup is as follows, with the players in parnethesses coming on in the minute that corresponds with the number: (4-3-3) Gabriel; Abate, Vergara, Romagnoli (Paletta 46), Antonelli (Calabria 68); Zanellato (Poli 46), Bertolacci (Kucka 33), Montolivo; Suso (Honda 68), Luiz Adriano (Matri 46), Niang (Bonaventura 68).

In the second minute, with Liverpool’s new signing Sadio Mane creating havoc in the Milan penalty area, only from Abate to close down the Senegalese winger, before Gabriel could gather.

The English outfit controlled the ball and the game, but had nothing going in the final third. That is until the forty-first minute when Brazilian Coutinho played Mane through on goal and Gabriel stood big to deny the winger with his legs.

SANTA CLARA, CA – JULY 30: Sadio Mane of Liverpool FC is tackled by M’Baye Niang of AC Milan.(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

The Reds opened the scoring in the fifty-eighth minute through Belgian international Origi. The twenty-one year old got on the end of a Moreno ball, cut in from the left side, beat Paletta with a drop of the shoulder and curled a right-footed strike beyond the Milan back-up keeper.

Liverpool felt they should have made it 2-0 midway through the second half, when Origi had another ruled out for offsides. That decision was incorrect aswell and should have been 2-0, so Klopp on the bench had a right to be upset.

In the sixty-first minute, we will introduce you to the other side of the pitch and the other team playing. Niang misheaded an Abate cross way over the bar.

Liverpool eventually did grab a deserved second goal, through another second half sub, Roberto Frimino. A great poachers finish after youngester Ojo’s deflected cross made it’s way across goal. Frimino tapped in and left Gabriel watching, helplessly.

In the dying minutes, the Brazilian, Friminio nearly had a brace, if it wasn’t for a great piece of goalkeeping by Milan’s shot stopper.

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Milan will look to bounce back on Wednesday at 20:30 local time in Minnesota against another English outfit, Chelsea, who defeated Liverpool 1-0 already in the ICC. That will be the first ever event at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Tags ICC Liverpool-Milan
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