Liverpool narrowly beat AC Milan on Wednesday evening. Their opening 15 minutes, however, were just about perfect.
Obviously, the three points Liverpool got against AC Milan were the important bit. The Reds desperately need to win their home games this season in what is a very difficult Champions League group.
Secondary, though, is the performance and Liverpool put in a strange one. They had to come from behind to win this one, after all, despite enjoying 3x their opponents’ shots.
But really, you can split this game into three parts. There was the second half, where Liverpool controlled the game and found two goals. There was the last half-hour of the first half where the Reds let Milan take the lead.
And then there was that opening 15 minutes. Liverpool produced near footballing perfection against Milan.
Liverpool vs AC Milan
Liverpool were utterly incredible to start this game. They pressed very high, attacked with intelligence and played Milan off the park.
The only issue was that they only scored once. They could have had three or four.
You can sum up the opening 15 with one stat: 11 shots to zero. They scored one, won a penalty, and forced Mike Maignan into some very good saves. But shot-count was only one stat they dominated.
Liverpool had 62% of the ball, won two tackles, four headers, produced a ridiculous eight key passes and won five corners.
Milan’s equivalent stats read 38%, 1, 1, 0, 0.
What’s particularly great about Liverpool’s display in that period was how symmetrical it was. Liverpool had the ball on the left just as much as they did on the right – this wasn’t simply getting joy through one area.
The entire team looked dominant. Liverpool gave Milan no respite anywhere on the pitch.
The Reds were unstoppable and that’s a performance that Jurgen Klopp will want to see more of. The problem is how he manages it. It’s unsustainable over 90 minutes, of course, and Klopp needs Liverpool attacking like this in waves.
What we got on Wednesday was the side taking their foot off the pedal, struggling to find a rhythm again, and conceding twice. That’s the part Klopp must fix.
But if the boss can have Liverpool putting in that opening 15 minutes against Milan with any regularity, his side will go far this season. They proved an ability to blitz opponents into submission.
Manging that ability correctly will deliver trophies.
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