Liverpool fell to beat in the first game of their pre-season tour through Asia after old enemies AC Milan were exploited to beat the bad defense to beat the Premier League champions with 4-2.
The Reds fell early on a Rafael Leao strike before Dominik Made Szoboszlai right.
Noah Okafor scored two after the break and Ruben Loftus-Cheek was also on goal for the Italians, while Cody Gakpo scored a comfort goal for Liverpool.
The men of Arne Slot now go to Tokyo for the second stage of their tour and the boss has enough to think about – with both positives and worrying signs to get out of this game.
Mail Sport‘s Lewis Steele was in Hong Kong and here are five major collection restaurants …
Liverpool lost 4-2 against AC Milan in their first match of their pre-season Tour through Asia
There were countless positives for Arne Slot to take, including Florian Wirtz’s display
Dominik Szoboszlai equalized in the first half before Noak Okafor struck twice after the break
Center Back (s) needed in Liverpool
Joe Gomez is now back in England after he had flown home on Friday evening from the Liverpool tour through Asia and reported pain in his Achilles.
It was decided that instead of being here for the second stage of the Tour in Japan, it would be the best for him to travel back to the northwest to undergo repair work.
The injury is only disputed as a minor and he is quickly expected from him but it is still a concern given that the long-term defender only played 11 minutes in 2025 with two long redundancies last season.
With Jarell Quansah signed for Bayer Leverkusen for £ 35 million earlier this transfer window, leaves only three Senior Centerbacks behind – and one is already on the treatment table.
Ryan Gravenberch and Kostas Tsimikas, who made a late mistake for the fourth of Milan, were both tested in the heart of the defense in this game, but neither of them seem like the long -term options. Yes, Gravenberch played there before and did it well, but playing him in defense means that you miss his Mercurial Midfield displays.
So it feels like, despite the fact that he spends £ 295 million and even if Alexander Isak would make a sensational switch to the club, they are still at least one defense light.
And that is not to forget the fact that Real Madrid Konate travels, whose contract has risen next summer!
Ryan Gravenberch was tested in the middle of the back, but does not seem to be an option in the long term
Real Madrid is it for years in Ibrahima Konate, whose contract is next summer
Defense looks unusually open
There were some errors on the Virgil van Dijk brand in the first half, which can all be apologized by the fact that it is for the season.
The first goal of AC Milan came from improvised defender Gravenberch who got up too far and is caught by diving into a challenge. Then Van Dijk seemed to invite Leao to shoot and he was obliged to properly, although the Portugal wing player still had a lot of work to do.
In the second half, when Konate and Tsimikas were the defenders, Liverpool gave two goals on the counterattack. One from the left, one right, they were similar because the Reds press was avoided and then Pacy Wingers in the mass space backwards.
Full backs Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez were perhaps guilty of their toes, while Leoo and Alexis Sealemaekers shot past them and Milan finally scored.
Again, not huge worries – but perhaps worked by perhaps to do lock on the training ground.
There were some errors on the Virgil van Dijk brand during the first half
Milos Kerkez, a summer arrival from Bournemouth, was caught a bit on his toes
Wirtz Will have the team tap
The 50,000 locals who packed the Kai Tak Stadium can say that they were the first Liverpool fans who see him attract the famous Red Jersey in a game.
He played in a friendly doors behind-Closed-Doors last week, but this was his first real outing and wow, what a player.
Liverpool has paid £ 116 million for the privilege that he is their husband, but he looks like the type of star that their entire team could transform.
The German had a number of enchanting moments here and could have registered a few assists if the finishing of his teammates was better.
His first touch was breathtakingly good and, concerned for defenders of Premier League rivals, his link with Mohamed Salah was on point. The couple seemed to be on the right wavelength and, since this is only for the season, that is pleasant for the coaching staff to see.
Wirtz had a number of enchanting moments and could even have achieved a few assists
His first touch was breathtakingly good and he was very committed to Mohamed Salah
How Have young players done it?
Rio Ngumoha is often cited as the best star in the Liverpool academy and labeled as a big prospect for the future. The first part of that sentence is correct, but the end is not: he is not one for the future, he is now one.
The 16-year-old caused all kinds of problems for the defenders of AC Milan in the 45 minutes he played, with a few Mazy Runs and strikingly creative game.
A year ago signed from Chelsea, the child who just wears ‘Rio’ was tipped on the back of his shirt for big things and Liverpool believed that they had signed a golden gem. Although he is still 16, it is not a big surprise to see him progress while he is in the first team.
Ngumoha was caught cheaply in one of his first touches, but then settled.
One thing he has to work on in the coming years is to know when to play the simple pass and when you have to start one of his dribbles. Sometimes it feels like he is trying to do too much – but honest game for him, he has a lot in his locker, so why don’t you try?
The same can perhaps be said about 18-year-old Trey Nyoni, another poached from a rival academy in his teenage years. Midfielder Nyoni came from Leicester in 2023 and is now flourishing on the Big-Boy photo, with six first team performances to his name.
Slot aims Nyoni strong and he had some striking moments here, the most striking being when he danced through the defense of Milan, but could not find the finish. If he had that chance back, the teenager knows he should have taken the shot earlier.
Young prodigy Rio Ngumoha caused problems for Milan in the 45 minutes he played
Trey Nyoni, 18, is strongly rated by Slot and also enjoyed some striking moments
Is The ‘adios’ for two South American stars?
Two men were striking because of their absence.
Luis Diaz nor Darwin Nunez were in the 22-man MatchDay team for Liverpool, because speculation goes on their future in the club.
Both are expected to leave this summer despite the fact that they are on the Asia tour, where Bayern Munich prepared a second bid for Diaz after a £ 58 million was rejected. The Colombian wants to strive for his options elsewhere.
NUNEZ is also expected to leave the club for a long time, despite the fact that clubs are not willing to do the price that Liverpool asks, which is around £ 70 million.
Although Saudi Arabic outfits are expected to return to the table for him, with Napoli earlier in conversations.
The couple was in the stadium, but the fact that they did not play was suspected and can rather point their outputs instead of later.
Alexis Mac Allister is meanwhile again in full training after providing a long -term problem that he went through last season, while Wataru Endo will probably also appear in his home country of Japan after he was out with illness.
#Florian #Wirtz #prepares #Liverpool #Tick #16yearold #prodigy #team #area #Arne #Slot #strengthen #learned #defeat #Reds #Milan