Arne Slot overcame the pressure in his first Champions League match as Liverpool head coach. The Kop made an excellent comeback to defeat AC Milan with a score of 3-1 right at the San Siro stadium.
AC Milan took the lead after only 3 minutes when Christian Pulisic accelerated and shot diagonally into the goal. After that, it seemed like Liverpool had an equalizer but Mohamed Salah's shot hit the crossbar.
However, the away team did not have to wait long to equalize. In the 23rd minute, Ibrahima Konate headed down goalkeeper Mike Maignan from a corner kick by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Konate's defensive partner, Virgil van Dijk, then scored in the same scenario in the 41st minute.
Things got worse for Milan at the start of the second half when goalkeeper Maignan was injured and had to leave the pitch. Therefore, despite not playing aggressively, the "Red Brigade" still had a goal to seal the 3-1 victory thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai.
There were times when it seemed like Milan would miss Slot's 46th birthday, but that worry quickly disappeared. Liverpool are simply too fast, too strong and too overwhelming against AC Milan.
Milan are no longer afraid of their heyday, but this is still a remarkable result for Slot and marks his reign at Anfield. Every Liverpool coach is judged on their success in Europe, which is a mandatory standard for a team that has won the competition six times.
San Siro is still one of the iconic stadiums of European football. And here, Liverpool stood up with explosive and emotional performances like Jurgen Klopp's "Heavy Metal" football of the past. Slot is gradually taking the hearts of "Red Brigade" fans despite not being in charge for long.
"It's a great day to celebrate your birthday at a stadium like this. And then there was the victory. Things went quite well. We showed how good we are. We like to put pressure and be really aggressive, but we also like to play from behind and create chances" - Slot expressed his feelings.
This is also a special day for Liverpool captain Van Dijk as he marked his 50th appearance in the Champions League. And it was no different when the Dutch international contributed an important goal to the home team's victory.
"We have been very successful in recent years and I am always grateful for that. Everything has changed, the new coach here and he has different principles. We are working on everything and there are still many things to improve," Van Dijk said.
