Liverpool staged yet another comeback win against AC Milan in the Champions League, recreating their heroics from the 2005 Champions League final. The Reds hosted the Italian giants in Anfield on Wednesday and went into the half-time break trailing 2-1.
Liverpool’s talisman Mohamed Salah struck right after half-time to level the game, before captain Jordan Henderson – much like Steven Gerrard in 2005 final – scored in the game, helping the Merseyside club to a 3-2 win.
The Reds dominated possession but could not convert their chances in the game, which gave Milan a sniff at victory. The Premier League side could have doubled their advantage in the first half, but Salah missed a penalty, which kept the Italian side in the game.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp spelled out his side’s problems in the game, stating that his players lost the plot for a few minutes, which put them in trouble.
“It was a brilliant game, very exciting and very entertaining with 10-15 minutes where we lost a little bit of the plot. We were not compact anymore and got carried away with our own football. We complicated matters. Our defensive line was too deep, the midfield was not closing the gaps anymore and so they could pass through us and score a few goals. But we adapted at half-time and played again really good football, scored two wonderful goals,” said Klopp.
Premier League rivals Manchester City played out an exciting 6-3 win against RB Leipzig, while Chelsea had an average game but sneaked a 1-0 win over Zenit St. Petersburg at home. The fourth Premier League side in the Champions League this season, Manchester United, surprisingly lost to Swiss club Young Boys, thanks to a shocking back pass by Jesse Lingard which allowed Theoson Siebatcheu to score in the dying moments of the game.
Barcelona was once again trounced by German giants Bayern Munich, who cruised to a 3-0 win at the Nou Camp. The Catalan side registered zero shots on goal, in what was an insipid performance by Ronald Koeman’s men. Barca’s arch-rivals Real Madrid got a useful 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Italy, thanks to a late goal by Brazilian youngster Rodrygo.
The other shocking result of the first matchday of the 2021-22 Champions League was Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-1 draw against Belgian side Club Brugge. PSG put out a team brimming with attacking talent, which included the trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe.
This year’s Champions League will be the first in the history of the competition without the away goals rule in the knockout stages of the tournament. If the two sides cannot be separated over the course of the two legs, the game will go into 30 minutes of extra time and then penalties.
