3 Things We Learnt From Liverpool 3-2 AC Milan

 1) Origi takes his chance

When the team sheets were announced last night, few would have predicted Divock Origi starting. Origi had seen his influence dwindle in the last year or so and was almost destined to leave the club but a good offer failed to materialize. So it was a real surprise when he replaced Mane in the starting line up. He, however, started the game really well and found himself at the end of a delicious Andrew Robertson cross but was unable to convert. He came up second best against his duels with Tomori but that didn't stop him from providing an assist for Salah's equalizer in the 48th minute. All in all, it was good performance from him and definitely something he would be looking to build on.

2) Salah finally misses a penalty 

Mo Salah had his penalty saved by Maignan in the 14th minute of the game. It was surprising to say the least because up until that point, Mo had scored 17 penalties in a row. The last time he missed was against  Huddersfield Town in 2017. It might have proven costly with AC Milan leading Liverpool at half time. Salah, however, immediately made amends as he equalized in the 48th minute. He played a clever one-two with Origi and found a pocket of space as he pulled of the back of the defender and lifted his shot over Maignan. 

3) Crazy 5 minutes to the end the 1st half

It was the first Champions League game for which fans retuned to Anfield since the infamous defeat to Atletico in the 2019-20 season. The last  5 minutes of the 1st half were unfortunately, reminiscent of that game. Liverpool were utterly dominant in the 1st 40 minutes so much so that they had 14 shots on goal. AC Milan, on the other hand, could barely get out of their box but in the blink of an eye, they found themselves two-one up at half time. The defense completely switched off and didn't track back their runners. Trent once again had one of those games at the back and both of Milan's goals game down his side. To make matters worse, the gap between the defense and midfield was too large. As a result,  Saelemaekers and Diaz found themselves in pockets of space which they exploited brilliantly. The last 5 minutes of the 1st half demonstrated how margins at the top level can be so slim.  A momentary lapse in  concentration could easily end up costing the game. Liverpool did, however, win the game thanks to Henderson's belter but they must learn from this experience.