In the first 30 minutes of Wednesday’s match at Anfield, AC Milan’s goal was under constant siege
When Rafael Leao became disoriented in the midst of the attack, he passed the ball to Trent Alexander-Arnold in his penalty area. To avoid being caught up in Andrew Robertson’s pursuit, Ismael Bennacer began dribbling at full speed in the other direction.
It’s incredible what this Liverpool team can do to their opponents when they’re in a frenzy and cheered on by a frenzied Anfield crowd. Their shot count was 13 after just 15 minutes of the game, which is absurd.
Later, Jurgen Klopp stated that his team’s start was “impressive.” It was a bit of a misstatement, to be honest. Alexander-cross Arnold’s shot bounced off Fikayo Tomori in the ninth minute for Liverpool’s opening, and the Reds might have already been out of sight.
Despite Milan’s attempts to play out from the back, Liverpool was relentless in their pursuit of them. After hardly making it out of their defensive third, Stefano Pioli’s team had to settle for a point in the opposition’s half. As Klopp described the first period, he described it as “extremely, super, super intense.”
At their most enthralling, Liverpool was on display here
Three of the four forward players switched places as Fabinho and Jordan Henderson controlled the midfield. A single-pass was never lost by any of them in the first half-hour.
A second goal seemed likely even after Mohamed Salah failed to convert his penalty. Maignan stopped Joel Matip and then Salah again. Liverpool, on the other hand, continued to press forward despite this.
However, as the game progressed, the pace slowed down, and Milan could take control.
Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz scored within 110 seconds of each other to flip the game on its head right before the halftime break.
According to the majority of people, the change came out of the left field.
Klopp, on the other hand, had the foresight of what was to come.
We were penalized in the last minutes before half-time, but it began earlier, he said. In the end, we were a little carried away with our football. Offensively, we were no longer simple, and defensively, we were no longer well-organized.
As long as we’re well-prepared, Fabinho is a fantastic player who can take on all of our difficulties. If the gaps are too large, even he cannot solve it.”
For both of Milan’s goals, there were several mistakes.
Alexis Saelemaekers had evaded Naby Keita in the opening round because Diaz was too much room to locate him. Meanwhile, Matip and Alexander-Arnold couldn’t do anything to stop Rebic from escaping.
Neither Liverpool’s nor Milan’s defenses were in good shape. Liverpool fell behind after Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho were too sluggish in following Leao, and Matip missed his interception. Klopp characterized it as “not pleasant” later.
After each score, the camera moved to Virgil van Dijk, sitting on the Liverpool bench, while Milan celebrated. His absence stood out in those erroneous sections of the play.
However, the fact that Van Dijk is severely missed after just four games back in the side is testimony to how swiftly he has re-established himself in the Liverpool defense.
Liverpool has allowed only one goal in four Premier League outings
Since returning to action last month, Van Dijk has been nothing short of a swashbuckling leader. Liverpool has allowed only one goal in four Premier League outings.
So far, Manchester City and Wolves are the only teams to have conceded fewer shots than the other teams.
As he recovered from a cruciate knee injury, Liverpool had to play without him for most of last season, but that chaotic spell against Milan served as a reminder of what they miss when he’s not there.
In addition to his physical and technical prowess, Van Dijk’s ability to orchestrate events around him is unrivaled.
He would have prevented the communication failure between Gomez and Matip that led to Milan’s opening goal. We wouldn’t have tolerated Alexander’s behavior, Arnold’s, either.
Before the game, Klopp said, “Virgil might have played, but I have to push myself to be very reasonable.” Klopp cited Liverpool’s busy schedule and the 30-year-recent old’s comeback from injury as reasons for not playing him.
Although it was not precisely what Virgil or I had hoped for, it was necessary.
Klopp made the correct decision in the end. Having Van Dijk on the bench would have pleased many fans, but Klopp trusted the others to rebound, and they did just as Klopp had hoped they would.
Now that Virgil van Dijk has returned to his starting position, Liverpool will be hoping there will be no defensive mistakes the next time they expose their opponent to a bombardment as they did in the first half-hour at Anfield Wednesday.
Image courtesy of Liverpool FC/YouTube