Liverpool secured a solid 3-1 victory over AC Milan in their Champions League opener, marking their return to the competition after a season in the Europa League. The win followed Liverpool’s unexpected defeat by Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.
AC Milan took an early lead just three minutes into the match when Christian Pulisic scored with a low strike past goalkeeper Alisson Becker. However, Liverpool responded quickly. Mohamed Salah came close to equalizing when his shot hit the crossbar, and in the 23rd minute, Ibrahima Konate leveled the score with a header from a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick.
Salah again hit the bar before Virgil van Dijk gave Liverpool the lead shortly before half-time, heading in Konstantinos Tsimikas’ corner. Cody Gakpo’s 67th-minute run set up Dominik Szoboszlai for a simple tap-in to complete the scoring.
Federico Chiesa, a summer signing for Liverpool, made his debut in stoppage time, replacing Salah in the 93rd minute.
The match was Liverpool’s first Champions League victory without former manager Jurgen Klopp since Brendan Rodgers’ team defeated Besiktas 1-0 in the Europa League in 2015.
Liverpool also honored supporter Philip Dooley, who died in a road accident in Italy, by wearing black armbands. Representatives from both teams placed flowers on his seat in tribute.
AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was forced to leave the game in the second half after a collision with Diogo Jota. Rafael Leao almost pulled one back for the hosts late in the match, but Alisson tipped his effort onto the post.
Liverpool’s next Champions League fixtures include matches against Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen in October. Highlights of the match will be available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website from 22:00 BST on Wednesday. A Champions League special, Match of the Day, will air on BBC One from 22:40 to 00:00.
