Liverpool fell to defeat within the first match of their pre-season tour of Asia after outdated foes AC Milan exploited poor defending to beat the Premier League champions 4-2.
The Reds fell behind early to a Rafael Leao strike earlier than Dominik Szoboszlai equalised.
Noah Okafor scored two after the break and Ruben Loftus-Cheek was additionally on the right track for the Italians, whereas Cody Gakpo scored a comfort aim for Liverpool.
Arne Slot’s males now jet on to Tokyo for the second leg of their tour and the boss has loads to ponder – with each positives and worrying indicators to come back out of this recreation.
Mail Sport‘s Lewis Steele was in Hong Kong and listed here are his 5 key takeaways…
Liverpool misplaced 4-2 towards AC Milan of their first match of their pre-season tour of Asia
There have been quite a few positives for Arne Slot to take, together with Florian Wirtz’s show
Dominik Szoboszlai equalised within the first half earlier than Noak Okafor struck twice after the break
Centre again(s) wanted at Liverpool
Joe Gomez is now again in England after flying dwelling from Liverpool’s tour of Asia on Friday evening, reporting ache in his Achilles.
It was determined that as a substitute of him staying out right here for the second leg of the tour in Japan, it will be finest for him to journey again to the north west to bear restoration work.
The damage has solely been mooted as minor and he’s anticipated again quickly – however it’s nonetheless a fear given the long-serving defender performed simply 11 minutes in 2025 with two prolonged lay-offs final season.
With Jarell Quansah signing for Bayer Leverkusen for £35million earlier this switch window, that leaves simply three senior centre backs – and one is already on the remedy desk.
Ryan Gravenberch and Kostas Tsimikas, who made a late mistake for Milan’s fourth, had been each trialled on the coronary heart of defence on this recreation however neither of them seem to be long-term choices. Sure, Gravenberch has performed there earlier than and has finished nicely, however enjoying him in defence means you miss his mercurial midfield shows.
So, it appears like regardless of spending £295million and even when Alexander Isak was to make a sensational change to the membership, they’re nonetheless no less than one defender gentle.
And that is to not point out the very fact Actual Madrid are courting Konate, whose contract is up subsequent summer time!
Ryan Gravenberch was trialled at centre again however doesn’t seem a long-term choice there
Actual Madrid are courting Ibrahima Konate, whose contract is up subsequent summer time
Defence appears to be like uncharacteristically open
There have been some off-brand errors from Virgil van Dijk within the first half, all of which might be excused by the truth that it’s pre-season.
AC Milan’s first aim got here from makeshift defender Gravenberch stepping too far up and being caught out by diving right into a problem. Then Van Dijk appeared to ask Leao to shoot and he duly obliged, although the Portugal winger nonetheless had loads of work to do.
Within the second half, when Konate and Tsimikas had been the defenders, Liverpool conceded two preventable objectives on the counter-attack. One from the left, one the fitting, they had been comparable in that the Reds press was evaded after which pacy wingers exploited mass house in behind.
Full backs Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez had been maybe responsible of being on their toes as Leao and Alexis Sealemaekers darted previous them and Milan ended up scoring.
Once more, not an enormous fear – however work to be finished by Slot on the coaching floor possibly.
There have been some off-brand errors from Virgil van Dijk in the course of the first half
Milos Kerkez, a summer time arrival from Bournemouth, was caught a bit on his toes
Wirtz will make the workforce tick
The 50,000 locals who packed out the Kai Tak Stadium can say they had been the primary Liverpool followers to see him don the well-known pink jersey in a recreation.
He performed in a behind-closed-doors pleasant towards Stoke final week however this was his first actual outing – and wow, what a participant.
Liverpool have paid £116m for the privilege of him being their man however he appears to be like just like the type of star who may remodel their entire workforce.
The German had some spellbinding moments right here and will have registered a few assists if his team-mates’ ending was higher.
His first contact was breathtakingly good and, worrying for defenders of Premier League rivals, his link-up with Mohamed Salah was on level. The pair gave the impression to be on the fitting wavelength and, given that is solely pre-season, that’s pleasing for the teaching employees to see.
Wirtz had some spellbinding moments and will even have notched a few assists
His first contact was breathtakingly good and he linked up fantastically with Mohamed Salah
How did younger gamers fare?
Rio Ngumoha is usually cited as the perfect star in Liverpool’s academy and labelled as a giant prospect for the longer term. The primary a part of that sentence is right however the ending shouldn’t be: he’s not one for the longer term, he’s one for now.
The 16-year-old triggered all kinds of issues for AC Milan’s defenders within the 45 minutes he performed, with some mazy runs and crowd pleasing artistic play.
Signed from Chelsea a yr in the past, the child who wears simply ‘Rio’ on the again of his shirt was tipped for giant issues and Liverpool believed they’d signed a golden gem. Regardless that he’s nonetheless 16, it’s not an enormous shock to see him progressing as he’s within the first workforce ranks.
Ngumoha was caught in possession cheaply in one in every of his first touches however settled after that.
One factor he should work on within the coming years is to know when to play the straightforward cross and when to embark on one in every of his dribbles. Typically, it appears like he’s making an attempt to do an excessive amount of – however truthful play to him, he has loads in his locker so why not attempt it?
The identical, maybe, might be stated about 18-year-old Trey Nyoni, one other poached from a rival academy in his mid-teens. Midfielder Nyoni joined from Leicester in 2023 and is prospering within the big-boy image now, with six first-team appearances to his identify.
Slot charges Nyoni extremely and he had some eye-catching moments right here, probably the most notable being when he danced via the Milan defence however couldn’t discover the end. If he had that likelihood again, {the teenager} is aware of he ought to have taken on the shot earlier.
Younger prodigy Rio Ngumoha triggered issues for Milan within the 45 minutes he performed
Trey Nyoni, 18, is rated extremely by Slot and likewise loved some eye-catching moments
Is it ‘adios’ to 2 South American stars?
Two males had been conspicuous by their absence.
Neither Luis Diaz nor Darwin Nunez had been within the 22-man matchday squad for Liverpool as hypothesis continues about their future on the membership.
Each are anticipated to go away this summer time regardless of being on the Asia tour, with Bayern Munich readying a second bid for Diaz after a £58m was turned down. The Colombian is eager to pursue his choices elsewhere.
Nunez, likewise, has lengthy been anticipated to depart the membership regardless of golf equipment being unwilling to cough up the worth Liverpool are asking for, which is round £70m.
Although Saudi Arabian outfits are anticipated to return to the desk for him, with Napoli beforehand in talks.
The pair had been on the stadium however the reality they weren’t enjoying was suspicious, and should level to their exits sooner somewhat than later.
Alexis Mac Allister, in the meantime, is again in full coaching after nursing a long-term downside that he performed via final season, whereas Wataru Endo can be prone to function in his homeland of Japan after being out with sickness.
