Liverpool beaten 4‑2 by AC Milan in Hong Kong pre‑season friendly

Milan’s attacking prowess exploits defensive lapses

Rafael Leao opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Dominik Szoboszlai soon equalised for Liverpool with a superb strike in the 26th minute, setting the score at 1‑1 at halftime. However, six minutes into the second half, former Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus‑Cheek restored Milan’s lead. Noah Okafor then added two more goals—before and after Liverpool substitute Cody Gakpo scored a late header—to seal the win.

Tactical overview: Liverpool’s strengths and weaknesses

Liverpool enjoyed greater possession throughout the match, with new signing Florian Wirtz making his first start. Despite this dominance, shaky defending proved costly. Wirtz played the first 45 minutes before being substituted, while new full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong came on at halftime. Striker Hugo Ekitike, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt, did not feature after arriving just two days prior.

Fans honour late Diogo Jota in emotional tribute

In front of a sellout crowd of 49,704, Liverpool fans vastly outnumbered those supporting Milan and paid tribute to Diogo Jota, who recently passed away in a car accident. A mosaic spelling "DJ20" was displayed in the stands, and Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish laid flowers. Leao joined the gesture by forming the number 20 with his fingers after opening the scoring.

Next steps for Liverpool

Liverpool will continue their pre‑season tour in Asia with a match in Japan against Yokohama F.‑Marinos on Wednesday. Meanwhile, full-back Joe Gomez returned home for treatment on a minor Achilles issue.