Liverpool 2 AC Milan 4: Florian Wirtz makes debut but Reds comfortably beaten with comical late mistake

The Irish Sun

6 days ago

LIVERPOOL suffered their first defeat of pre-season as they were run ragged by AC Milan in Hong Kong.
To make matters worse,
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Rafael Leao starred for AC Milan as they beat Liverpool
Credit: Getty
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Dominik Szoboszlai did grab a goal for Liverpool
Credit: Getty
Noah Okafor latched on to a sloppy pass from Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas to tap into an empty net.
The goal was the forward's second of the match as the Serie A giants dumped four goals past the Premier League champions.
The match was played in front of a crowd of 40,704 fans who paid tribute to Diogo Jota before kick-off.
Flowers were laid by Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish in front of fans, who responded by holding up a mosaic spelling out "DJ20" in honour of Jota's number 20 shirt, which has been retired by the club.
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The impressive Rafael Leao netted the Italian's opening goal after a dazzling run.
The winger ran half of the pitch before slamming his effort past Alisson.
Dominik Szoboslai did level the match for the Reds in the 26th minute.
The midfielder curled an effort into the top corner of the
Milan
net from the edge of the box.
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However, the second half saw Milan put themselves out of sight of Slot's men.
Leao was in the centre of the action again as his slick footwork allowed him to set up former
Darwin Nunez performs tragic Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota's celebration after scoring in first game since his death
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Kostas Tsimikas played a sloppy pass in the dying moments
Credit: viaplay
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Noah Okafor was able to beat Giorgi Mamardashvili to the loose ball
Credit: viaplay
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And he tapped home into an empty goal
Credit: viaplay
The midfielder made no mistake from close range to restore Milan's lead in the 52nd minute.
Liverpool
gave themselves a glimmer of hope of rescuing a draw as
But those hopes were rubbed out within a minute as Slot's side capitulated, allowing Milan to net their fourth of the game.
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Florian Wirtz made his debut for Liverpool
Credit: AFP
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Exit linked Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz were not selected
Credit: Reuters
The match did see
Slot's squad has also lost a bit of depth as defender Joe Gomez has flown home from the tour in the Far East.
The centre-back is travelling with a believed injured Achilles.
Forwards
summer
.
Liverpool will now fly to
Japan
to face Yokohama F-Marinos on Wednesday.