AC Milan stun Liverpool in HK Football Festival opener
The Rossoneri celebrate with the trophy at the Kai Tak Stadium. Photo: Reuters
AC Milan held on to defeat English champions Liverpool 4-2 to open the Hong Kong Football Festival at the Kai Tak Stadium in dramatic fashion, as a record crowd of nearly 50,000 turned out to watch their heroes battle it out on the pitch.
It didn't take long for the Italian side to make their presence felt, with Rafael Leao opening the scoring ten minutes into the match.
But the Reds quickly drew level when Dominik Szoboszlai scored with a slick finish from the left in the 26th minute to the delight of the Liverpool faithful in the stadium. Both sides had a number of chances to pull ahead towards the end of the first half, but were unable to, and the score remained tied at the break.
There was an emotional moment at the 20th minute mark, though, as fans in the crowd paid tribute to the late Liverpool star Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash earlier this month.
The second half saw a far more electrified AC Milan team.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek made it 2-1 in favour of the Rossoneri in the 52nd minute, before Noah Okafor doubled their advantage seven minutes later.
From there, the Italian side never looked back – defending stoutly to deny Liverpool any chance of finding the net.
Cody Gakpo spared Liverpool's blushes three minutes into stoppage time, but Okafor scored his second of the match for Milan two minutes later, to seal the victory.
"It was nice to play against a Premier League team again," Loftus-Cheek said after the match. "Of course, Liverpool is fantastic and one of the best teams in the world, and it was a good test for us tonight."
Still, he added, there was plenty of work to be done.
"It's about feeling better physically, gelling as a team – there's a lot for us to improve on. But it was a good step for us tonight, a good performance. So we'll take that and move on."
Despite the result, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said he believed there were plenty of positives to take away from the match going forward – particularly ahead of the FA Community Shield against Crystal Palace next month.
"We have to keep better, keep making the next step, and keep getting fitter and fitter," he said. "We still have two, three more games to get ready for the Community Shield. We have to work our socks off, like I mentioned already last week. So we'll go for it."
Manager Arne Slot, meanwhile, was quick to praise the electric energy fans brought to the Kai Tak Stadium.
"Wherever we go in the world, if it was last season in the USA, or at Anfield, or we play our away games, or here in Hong Kong... everywhere we go feel so much support and love from the fans."
He also commented on the turnout for the open training session at the same venue, which was held days prior to the match.
"I don't think many clubs train in a stadium with 25,000 people watching a training session," he said with a smile. "So it tells you something about the club, but also about our fans. We're really happy to be here, and for the new players it's nice to see what this club means in the world."
Liverpool's clash with AC Milan marked the first time in eight years the Premier League giants have visited the SAR, following their last appearance at the Hong Kong Stadium.
The squad will next travel to Japan on the next stop of the Asia pre-season tour.
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