Arne Slot could now finally kick back, unwind, and celebrate becoming forty-six years old as the clock approached 11 p.m. local time in Milan. Following several days of worrying about whether his squad could bounce back from a crushing loss on Saturday, the Liverpool head coach was eventually given a gift.
At one of the biggest stadiums in sports, the coliseum-like San Siro, it began with three points to begin the Champions League campaign. This was Slot’s baptism of fire as far as joining Liverpool in Europe football goes.
For the first twenty minutes, it seemed as though his team might melt under the pressure and evaporate into a cauldron of noise. However, Slot’s birthday was made perfect as they overcame AC Milan with to goals from both center halves, Ibrahima Konate and captain Virgil van Dijk.After some careless finishing before it, Dominik Szoboszlai added a third goal in minute 67 to end the game, and Slot then began to cut a more relaxed figure. He had spent the first hour or two here, pacing his technical area anxiously, given the Dutchman’s placid demeanor.
It seemed that he thought he had something to prove. Liverpool was back at the top table of Europe with their first Champions League match in eighteen months, and Slot needed to prove he belonged here as well. Was that what he did? Indeed. Although Liverpool did occasionally appear susceptible, this was by no means a flawless performance; rather, it was a demonstration of tactical maturity, resilience, and effectiveness on both ends. The Reds hardly made a mistake in the first 20 minutes of the match, and Milan was unable to get back into the game.
Liverpool had all the better chances, but Mike Maignan had to be at the top of his game to keep the home club from losing even after Mohamed Salah had twice struck the crossbar. In the end, though, it was two set pieces that won this match.It is very amusing that Liverpool do not have a dead-ball expert given the romanticization of set-piece coaches in 2024 (Arsenal’s Nicolas Jover is practically a legendary figure whose name is frequently on the back pages).
The Arne Slot honeymoon period was quickly terminated by Saturday’s loss to Nottingham Forest, and the new head coach was aware that another setback would draw criticism. He needed to act quickly since he had been dragged back to earth to ruin his idyllic start in life in England.
To be sure, the San Siro isn’t the ideal place to recover from a severe setback. The mood is still overwhelming even if some parts of the stadium were empty because fans were protesting the cost of tickets. The roar of loudness seemed to be melting Liverpool’s stars.