AC Milan vs Liverpool's twists and turns in defeat
AC Milan News After Being Humiliated by Liverpool: Booed by Fans, Spectators Go Home Early
AC Milan supporters could not hide their disappointment after their favorite team lost 1-3 to Liverpool in the opening match of the 2024/2025 Champions League at the San Siro, Tuesday (17/9/2024) night.
The defeat sparked a strong reaction from the fans, who shouted for the AC Milan players to be braver after the final whistle blew.
Paulo Fonseca's team actually took the lead in the first half through Christian Pulisic's goal. However, Milan were helpless when Liverpool responded by scoring three goals.
An additional goal in the second half scored by Dominik Szoboslai added to the suffering of the Rossoneri, who started this season with less than satisfactory performance.
Despite winning their first win of the season against Venezia last weekend in Serie AC Milan failed to build on that momentum.
The defeat to Liverpool showed the team's weaknesses that have not been overcome, and this has made Milan fans even more frustrated.
After the final whistle, the supporters who filled the stands, especially from the Curva Sud, greeted the result with boos.
They even sang songs while the players were still on the field. Some other fans chose to leave the stadium before the match ended.
Captain Davide Calabria and striker Tammy Abraham tried to invite their teammates to approach the fans in the stands, but several players, including Rafael Leao, went straight into the dressing room without approaching the supporters.
The chants from the Curva Sud continued for several minutes. The chants were a form of great hope that the Milan players would react better in the next match.
Milan will face Inter in the highly anticipated Derby della Madonnina this weekend, a match that the Rossoneri last won in September 2022.
Source: Football Italia
Champions League: AC Milan Coach Explains the Chronology of His Team Being Defeated by Liverpool
AC Milan started their journey in this season's Champions League with an embarrassing defeat to Liverpool. The 1-3 result at San Siro put Paulo Fonseca, AC Milan coach, under even greater pressure.
Previously, the coach was already under pressure by only being able to win two points from the first three matches in Serie A this season. The big 4-0 win over Venezia this week was actually expected to be a turning point for AC Milan.
Moreover, AC Milan had taken an early lead through Christian Pulisic's goal when the match had only been going on for 3 minutes. However, the Reds were able to turn things around thanks to two headers scored by Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk from dead ball situations, as well as an additional goal from Dominik Szoboszlai in the second half.
Fonseca admitted that his team did not follow the plan, his players lost their mental balance after conceding two goals in the first half.
"We started the match well, but after conceding two goals from dead ball situations, everything changed, we lost our mental balance and failed to carry out what we had prepared." said Paulo Fonseca to Sky Sport Italia.
The main focus of Milan's defeat was the fragility of the defense, especially in dead ball duels. Both goals from Liverpool came from headers from their center backs.
Actually, Fonseca had predicted that AC Milan would use an individual marking strategy to prevent this situation. However, the players failed to carry it out well and often made mistakes
In addition to the problems above, Mike Maignan's injury in this match also worsened the situation. Milan's main goalkeeper was forced to leave the field after suffering an injury, after Fikayo Tomori accidentally hit his left knee.
Milan's poor performance in this match also raised questions about the formation used by Fonseca. Former Milan director, Zvonimir Boban, questioned whether the 4-3-3 system used was suitable for the characteristics of players such as Tijjani Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Fonseca explained that although his team played with several variations of formation, Milan's main weakness lay in defense and mistakes in decision making. He added that he was trying to find the best characteristics of AC Milan's midfielders.
"I think we could play with different formations, but we were too weak defensively, bad in individual duels and made the wrong decisions," Fonseca replied.
"I tried to find the best characteristics of our midfielders. Loftus can be a 10 or an 8, Reijnders is not someone who can play next to Fofana."
"I think we had three or four good situations in the first half with Loftus and Pulisic. This is the structure I like with two players in midfield, with Reijnders, Loftus and Pulisic combined, that's where we create the most dangerous situations," concluded the Portuguese coach.
This defeat adds to the pressure on Fonseca who has only won 5 points from four matches in Serie A 2024/2025. Although the 4-0 victory over Venezia neutralized the situation a little. However, the Derby della Madonnina against Inter Milan this weekend will test Fonseca's future as a coach.
AC Milan have now conceded nine goals in their last five matches, only recording one clean sheet so far. With defense continuing to be a major problem, Fonseca must work hard to find solutions to get back on track.
Virgil van Dijk Says Liverpool Have Changed, Have Moved On from Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk praised his team's calmness and resilience when they won 3-1 over AC Milan in the opening match of the 2024/2025 Champions League at the San Siro, Wednesday (18/7/2024) early morning WIB. He also said that the Reds had moved on from Jurgen Klopp.
This victory was a positive response after the Reds' surprising defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last weekend.
At the start of the match, Liverpool were behind through Christian Pulisic's quick goal. However, Arne Slot's team was able to bounce back with goals from Ibrahima Konate, Van Dijk, and Dominik Szoboszlai, which secured a convincing victory for the Reds.
In an interview after the match, Van Dijk expressed his satisfaction with the way Liverpool overcame the deficit and remained calm throughout the match.
"The defeat at the weekend was very disappointing in many ways," said Van Dijk.
"Especially the last part of the game, it was very frustrating to watch and to be part of. But we had the chance to improve it and I think we did that."
"A shaky start with the goal we conceded, everywhere we were late and they took advantage of it. But after that, the way we stayed calm and kept playing, kept looking for solutions, it was great to see," added Liverpool's Dutchman.
Liverpool enjoyed great success in the previous era under Jurgen Klopp, winning three Premier League titles and the Champions League as well as a host of domestic cups. But Van Dijk said the Reds had changed under Slot as a new era began.
"We have had success for many years and I am always grateful for that," he said. "Things have moved on, a new manager has come in and he has different principles.
"We are working on a lot of things and there are still some things to improve."
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Arne Slot celebrated his 46th birthday in style. He led Liverpool back from a painful defeat at the weekend to record a spectacular win. This result is a great relief for Liverpool and Arne Slot. One of the reasons is that the Reds finally managed to bounce back from a shocking defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, Saturday (14/9/2024).
No wonder, Arne Slot was so happy with the result. In addition to marking the revival of the Reds, this was also a special victory in his first match in Europe as the Reds boss.
"This is a great way to spend my birthday. However, a night like this only feels special if you win," said Slot, as quoted by the Mirror.
"We have 11 players and those who were fielded played well. You might not say this in the first 5 minutes. But after that we played well," he added.
The Dutch coach liked the reaction of his players after the suffocating 0-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last weekend.
"Losing on Saturday was a blow and then going 0-1 down early tonight, you must be wondering how we reacted," said Slot.
"But if you can play that well, it's - I won't say embarrassing - unbelievable that you can lose to Forest at home if you can play like this today," he added.
Source: Mirror
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