Liverpool bounce back in style to beat Milan in Champions League opener | Champions League

A thrilling comeback against Milan: say what you will about Arne Slot, but at least he knows his story. Two minutes into the game, perhaps the first real turning point of the new Liverpool era: the defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, followed by an early goal from Christian Pulisic that put Milan 1-0 ahead. How are your nerves?

Pretty solid, as it turned out. Supported by a chaotic Milan defence, Liverpool spent the next 88 minutes systematically dismantling the seven-time champions on their own turf: not always fluently and not always calmly, but with an encouraging directness and, above all, an instinctive calm.

Liverpool were happy to have the ball. They were happy not to have the ball. They didn't rest on their missed chances, they just made the most of them. And of course it helps when the opposition has the structural integrity of a Puri, allowing Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk to head the ball freely from set pieces to put Liverpool ahead.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored the final goal of the second half, fulfilling Slot's request for more goals from midfield. The most notable performances, however, came from Cody Gakpo on the left wing and Ryan Gravenberch in midfield. Gakpo was an absolute menace: unpredictable in his movements, unstoppable on the ball, and he dismantled Milan with his driving runs.

Gravenberch, on the other hand, has been at the heart of Liverpool's comeback, receiving the ball deep, winning it high and playing some lovely early passes to shift the momentum away from the home side. And perhaps it's no coincidence that both are late arrivals of the Klopp era who have felt a little like aliens until now, squashed into roles already largely defined by their predecessors (Roberto Firmino, Fabinho). Now, under their compatriot Slot, they have a blank slate ahead of them.

“This is a special place for Dutch people,” said Slot. “I was just standing next to Clarence Seedorf and he was also talking about Ryan and Cody. It's always nice to put in a performance like that, but it's even nicer in a venue like this. I could name a few others too.”

And even at that point, Milan's early goal felt like an anomaly, almost surreal in its ease and lack of intensity, as Álvaro Morata picked up a goal kick and steered it around the corner for Pulisic. And admittedly, at that point, Pulisic still had plenty to do. But – as Liverpool will discover in the debriefing of that goal – probably not enough. Kostas Tsimikas was nowhere, Konaté didn't get nearly close enough, and Pulisic was able to simply charge at goal and slot the ball low.

As a manager, there are very few buttons you can push in such situations. Changing something after three minutes already smells very much like panic. All you can really do is make a few encouraging gestures with your hands and trust that the players will get it done. And so, “with Nottingham Forest still on their minds,” as Slot would later admit, Liverpool began to find their composure again.

Milan, on the other hand, are simply not yet good enough or disciplined enough to deal with such situations. “A team that does not act as a team,” was the scathing verdict of the great Arrigo Sacchi on a team that had only won once in its first four Serie A games. After the initial wave of euphoria had subsided, Liverpool were able to simply calm down again, choose their passes and determine their moments.

Konaté made amends with a header in the 23rd minute. Mike Maignan was brought on to deal with a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold but was nowhere near the goal. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah hit the crossbar twice and Maignan made a smart save from Gakpo, who took advantage of an early booking for Davide Calabria to make the left wing his personal command centre.

Here, in the open pastures of San Siro, there was now plenty of space, which had been so hard to come by against Nottingham Forest. Van Dijk's goal just before half-time was elemental in both idea and execution: a little initial struggle and then a sudden retreat in the opposite direction to meet Tsimikas' corner with a header from four yards.

The crazy thing about all this was that Milan are actually quite a beautiful team when they're in full swing: a flawed and dangerous team made up largely of young players, grizzled old pros and players vaguely remembered from playing for Chelsea. Morata, signed from Atlético Madrid in the summer, is a cleverer and much tougher striker than many give him credit for. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is basically the same player at 28 as he was at 20. Fikayo Tomori was probably the best choice of a shaky back line. Tammy Abraham made a late cameo appearance.

But by then the game was already decided. Szoboszlai sealed the victory with a neat finish after a breathless sprint from Gakpo on the counterattack, and when the Milan players took on the ultras at the end of the match they were greeted with a barrage of whistles and chants of “tirate fuori i coglioni” – “show us some balls”. But ultimately it wasn't anatomy that Milan lacked here. It was talent.