Fonseca admits AC Milan could not cope with one Liverpool star, he's 'the most difficult to stop'

Now, this will not be the first game that comes to mind when discussing famous Liverpool comebacks against AC Milan in the Champions League. This is not the star-studded Rossoneri side of 2005. This was not the Miracle of Istanbul, either.

It certainly didn’t need to be. Instead, Liverpool found themselves going up against AC Milan team who appeared to have been suffering an allergic reaction to set-piece marking. The Merseyside giants made Christian Pulisic’s third minute opener redundant not so much through Arne Slot’s intricate tactical plans or a sizzling solo performance akin to Steven Gerrard’s in Turkey two decades ago, but instead some well-delivered set-pieces and some well-executed counter attacks.



If Slot was feeling any hint of pressure following Saturday’s shock h ome defeat to Nottingham Forest , then that is nothing compared to the burden on Paulo Fonseca’s shoulders. Milan have won only one from five games since the former Leeds United and West Ham target was appointed to replace their 2022 Scudetto-winning head coach Stefano Pioli. And, worryingly for him, the nature of that dismal collapse on home soil, during a much-anticipated Champions League opener, was as much down to Milan’s own failings as it was to Liverpool’s strengths.

Liverpool beat AC Milan in Champions League opener “We played against Liverpool, who are a great team,” Fonseca tells Sky Italia , doubts already growing amongst a hair-trigger local press. “We started the game well. Then, they had a chance on the counterattack and scored two goals from set pieces that changed the game and our mental balance.

” Liverpool cancelled out Pulisic’s early strike and then took a 2-1 lead into half-time with two almost identical goals. First, it was Trent Alexander-Arnold flashing a cross onto the head of Ibrahima Konate. Then, Kostas Tsimikas fired a clone of a dead ball into a crowded penalty area.

This time, Virgil van Dijk towered above a stranded Mike Maignan to nod home. “In these types of games, it’s the details that make the difference. You can’t make mistakes,” Fonseca sighs.

“I think Liverpool are more of a team than us and they showed it. We have to work to have continuity. “After the second goal conceded, the team never played.

So, it’s difficult.” Mo Salah shines in San Siro triumph A thrilling counter-attack – one of many Liverpool executed against a Milan side frequently ripped apart in transition – saw Cody Gakpo cross for Dominik Szoboszlai to convert from close range and kill the game as a contest in the 67th minute. There would be no goal for Mo Salah , however.

Though not for a lack of trying. After one of his poorest displays in a Liverpool shirt against Nottingham Forest – and amid the continued rumbling of that Saudi Arabian interest – this was the Salah the Reds fans have come to know and idolise. He hit the bar twice in the first-half while giving Theo Hernandez – a superb attacking full-back but often a poor defensive one – the runaround.

“We still make too many mistakes,” Fonseca, who’s initial arrival sparked plenty of debate following a mixed previous spell in Italy with AS Roma, says in quotes reported by Redmen TV on YouTube . “In the one-against-one, in the individual game, and in other phases, we have had a very bad time. “Especially trying to tackle Salah, trying to limit his movements.

Salah and other players are the most difficult players to (stop).”.