Liverpool beaten 4-2 by AC Milan in Hong Kong pre-season friendly

Banglapress Published: 23 September 2025, 10:25 AM

Liverpool beaten 4-2 by AC Milan in Hong Kong pre-season friendly

Bangla Press Desk: Former Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored as Premier League champions Liverpool were beaten 4-2 by AC Milan on Saturday in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong. Liverpool, with record signing Florian Wirtz making his first start, controlled large parts of the match under a closed roof at Kai Tak Stadium, but a shaky defence was punished on the break for all four Milan goals. Rafael Leao opened the scoring for the Italian side on 10 minutes with Dominik Szoboszlai's superb strike equalising 16 minutes later to make it 1-1 at half-time. But Loftus-Cheek and two goals from substitute Noah Okafor, either side of Cody Gakpo's late header, gave AC Milan victory.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said there were positives to take from the game but admitted his side needed to improve before their first competitive match, the Community Shield against Crystal Palace on August 10. "I saw a few good things," he told reporters, referring especially to the first half when a largely first-choice Liverpool created a host of chances but only converted one. Slot made nine changes at the break and a largely makeshift defence was caught out time and again. "We wanted to give 20 players some playing time. So as a result of that, too many players didn't play in their own position. We were a bit too open.

"We have to improve in certain areas, because we were counter-attacked too much today." Loftus-Cheek, who also had spells at Crystal Palace and Fulham, said it was special to score against Liverpool. "It's nice to play against a Premier League team again," said Loftus-Cheek, whose side had lost 1-0 to Arsenal in a friendly on Wednesday.

'Lot to improve on'

"Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world. It was a good test for us tonight.

"It's just about feeling better physically, gelling as a team, and there's a lot for us to improve. "So we'll take that and move on." Liverpool's Hong Kong fans vastly outnumbered those supporting AC Milan in the 49,704 sellout crowd. They paid a heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota, who passed away this month in a car crash. Flowers were laid by Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish in front of fans, who responded by holding up a mosaic spelling out "DJ20" in honour of Jota's number 20 shirt, which has been retired by the club. Leao, too, remembered his fellow Portuguese player Jota as he offered a silent prayer and formed the number 20 with his fingers after scoring the opener.

Wirtz played 45 minutes and looked comfortable directing operations, showing hints of why Bayer Leverkusen were paid a reported British transfer record $150 million for the German playmaker. Other new Liverpool signings, defenders Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong both came on as substitutes at half-time. Another defender, Joe Gomez, has flown home for treatment of a minor Achilles problem. Striker Hugo Ekitike, who was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for a reported $92 million, was not ready to take part, having only flown in to join his new teammates two days earlier. Liverpool started without a recognised central striker as Darwin Nunez, who was injured, and Luis Diaz, linked with a move away from Anfield, were left out. Liverpool will now fly to Japan to face Yokohama F-Marinos on Wednesday. This article was originally published on Daily Sun.

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[Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.]