Liverpool vs AC Milan: Reds lose as Wirtz stars in attack

Liverpool were beaten by AC Milan in their second preseason game of the summer as their new £100 million ($134.3m) man Florian Wirtz started up front while forwards Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez were left out of the squad altogether with their futures at the club increasingly uncertain.

Arne Slot's side lost 4-2 in a game where they were cut open defensively on multiple occasions while new signings Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili all got significant minutes in Hong Kong.

Milan took an early lead in the heat at Kai Tak Sports Park as United States star Christian Pulisic found Rafael Leão on a breakaway down the left inside 10 minutes. The Portugal international took the ball away from Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk before smashing home from a tight angle.

Liverpool found an equaliser just 15 minutes later courtesy of a Dominik Szoboszlai stunner. Rio Ngumoha, 16, found himself one on one with Fikayo Tomori and after some sharp footwork, he fed Szoboslai who curled into the far corner. 

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"The most beautiful and important thing I'm happy about in these first 20 days of work because the team has a proactive attitude and significantly raised its level of endurance," Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said.

"As for Leão, I believe he's growing and has the mature mindset to have a great season."

Milan appointed Allegri in May for a second stint after sacking Sergio Conceicao, having finished eighth in Serie A and missing out on European competition for the first time since 2019.

The sides went into half-time level as Slot rang the changes -- only Ryan Gravenberch remained on the pitch for the second half. 

With new signings Frimpong, Kerkez introduced alongside Cody Gakpo and Ben Doak now leading the line in the second-half, Milan once again caught Liverpool on the break. With bodies high up the pitch, Leão found space before setting up former Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek who smartly slotted home past another second-half substitute, Mamardashvili.

Liverpool's commitment to having bodies high up the pitch was exploited for a third time by Milan just before the hour mark as they took a two-goal lead. 

Alexis Saelemaekers found heaps of room down Liverpool's left before firing a ball into the middle for Noah Okafor to emphatically finish, leaving Mamardashvili merely a spectator. 

Gakpo netted a consolation at the death for Liverpool as he got on the end of a Ibrahima Konaté cross. Milan, however, reinstated their two-goal cushion in a chaotic finish to the game as Mamardashvili pushed forward to the halfway line before an error allowed Okafor to get his second of the night, slotting home into an empty net.

Those in attendance paid tribute to late Liverpool forward Diogo Jota with a pre-planned round of applause in the 20th minute of the match. The shirts of the Liverpool players read "Diogo J. 20" while Kenny Dalglish laid a wreath in front of the Liverpool supporters before kick off in tribute to the forward who died in a car crash on July 3.

A bright 45-minutes for Wirtz, a more advanced position on the right for Frimpong and Ngumoha on the wing were notable positives for Liverpool on an evening where they struggled defensively in an entertaining, goal-filled friendly.  

"Conceding four isn't what we want but you have to consider the circumstances, we missed seven senior players, and wanted to give 20 players playing time, so players have to play out of position," Slot said.

"We still were able to play our normal game, but we were a bit too open in the counter-attack."

Information from Reuters contributed to this report