Analysis from Liverpool’s Champions League win at AC Milan as dead-ball prowess makes the difference in the San Siro
Having watched the attack misfire horribly at the weekend, Liverpool’s centre-backs clearly decided it was time to take matters into their own hands at the San Siro. And in doing so, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk highlighted what could become a potent weapon in the Reds’ armoury under Arne Slot.
The Liverpool head coach pointed out after the Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest that his team haven’t quite clicked yet this season in terms of converting domination of possession into goals.
Given the Slot era is very much in the embryonic stages and his squad are continuing to adapt to his tactical tweaks, that is perhaps understandable.
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Counter-attacks and pressuring opponents into mistakes, though, remain fortes of this Liverpool group. And so too, it seems, are set plays.
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Certainly, they were hugely beneficial in helping the Reds regroup and recover after the blow of conceding after just two minutes and 47 seconds to regular nemesis Christian Pulisic, first Konate and then Van Dijk too powerful for the AC Milan defence when getting their head on to the ball in a packed penalty area.
Konate’s goal was his first since the FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City in April 2022, and in truth the Frenchman should be a greater regular threat from such positions.
Van Dijk, meanwhile, marked in the best manner possible his 50th Champions League appearance at the stadium where he made his first for Celtic almost 11 years ago to the day.
In keeping with the theme of defence showing the attack how it’s done, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick delivery for the equaliser was his 11th assist in the Champions League, while in curling in the corner for the second Kostas Tsimikas – in for the rested Andy Robertson – atoned for a misjudgement that prompted Milan’s opener.
That error from the Greek, though, was a rare misstep from a defence that kept dangerous Milan winger Rafael Leao reasonably quiet and ensured striker Alvaro Morata suffered his first defeat to the Reds at the sixth attempt.
With Liverpool having advertised for a set-piece coach during the summer, it’s evidently an area in which Slot believes his team can profit under his tenure. But already dead-ball prowess has ensured a healthy start to the Reds’ return to the Champions League.
