JORDAN’S A ROCKET MAN!
Italians give Anfield a shock but captain lashes in Liverp
UNRELENTING drama followed by comeback — a missed penalty and a huge goal from Liverpool’s captain — you’ve heard that somewhere before, haven’t you?
Liverpool against AC Milan will forever be synonymous with one night in Istanbul 16 years ago, a game never far from the thoughts of Anfield denizens. You cannot mention the names of these clubs without thinking back to what was a footballing miracle.
Steven Gerrard was the inspiration back then, dragging his team off the canvas to help the club win its fifth European crown, so it was fitting that Jordan Henderson, the current captain, reprised the role of his predecessor to give Liverpool’s campaign a perfect start.
Henderson will never be as prolific in front of goal as Gerrard but he’s always had it in him to produce something spectacular and in the 69th minute, his half-volley from 20 yards transformed a night that, at one stage, looked like it might become a damp squib.
Group B is packed full of great European names and Jurgen Klopp made it clear that getting out of it in one piece would be an achievement in itself. Those who thought the German was embellishing things looked rather naïve after 45 minutes, when the Italians led 2-1.
Klopp had been impatient for an occasion such as this, a big European night with the ‘house full’ signs on display, and the way Liverpool started in the opening ten minutes the appetite to make up for lost time was unmistakable.
Andy Robertson, hurtling down the left flank, was a particularly influential figure. His running and desire threatened to overwhelm Davide Calabria and two crosses — one for Divock Origi, the other for Mo Salah — almost led to goals with Liverpool’s first two attacks.
Anfield can swallow up opponents when the volume pumps and Liverpool’s intensity rises, and Milan looked breathless as more chances arrived with Diogo Jota zipping a left-footed drive across the face of goal and Joel Matip having a header saved by goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Such was Liverpool’s desire to land an early blow, it felt inevitable they would breakthrough and so it proved.
The threat came down the other side this time, with Trent Alexander-Arnold dashing through, and the right-back’s shot looped into the net after taking a deflection off Fikayo Tomori, a defender brought up at Chelsea.
For a spell Milan looked every inch a team that had not competed at this level for seven years. Disjointed and bickering, they were taking on water and on the point of submerging completely when Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded Liverpool a generous penalty.
Technically he was correct, as Ismael Bennacer’s arm was up as Robertson unleashed a shot but there was no intention to handle. Marciniak thought otherwise and pointed to the spot but, completely out of character, Salah missed from 12 yards for the first time since October 2017.
Maignan deserves credit, for he plunged sharply down to his right, but the knock-on effect for Liverpool was considerable.
They totally lost their impetus, the atmosphere went flat and, slowly Milan got a foothold in the contest to such an extent they went into the interval with an unlikely lead.
There is no disputing Liverpool gave Milan gifts, the kind that if they were offered in the knockout stages would end their interest in the competition.
Twice Milan went scurrying down Liverpool’s right, twice their attempts to play offside failed and twice the Italians capitalised.
Ante Rebic secured parity in the 42nd minute, sweeping his shot beyond Alisson Becker after Rafael Leao played the perfect pass. Klopp laughed sardonically as the ball nestled in the Anfield Road net but he was rendered speechless 110 seconds later.
Brahim Diaz, formerly of Manchester City, was the beneficiary on this occasion, tapping in from two yards after Robertson had flung himself in the way of Theo Hernandez’s shot, but how Milan were able to get forward left Klopp aghast — and rightly so.
Once he had gathered his thoughts, he scurried down the tunnel at half-time to make tweaks and Liverpool emerged in the same manner as they had done an hour before, determined to make their mark.
They did just that within four minutes of the restart.
True to form, it was the man wearing No 11 who was the saviour. Perhaps it’s because we are watching him every week it almost gets taken for granted that Salah scores a lot of goals but it really shouldn’t. He’s a phenomenon for Liverpool, a man who will go down as an all-time great.
He made his equaliser look easy but, really, it was anything but straightforward. He timed his run onto Origi’s clipped pass perfectly then deftly guided his shot beyond the stranded Maignan with the outside of his left foot.
With tails up, Liverpool began to look much more like themselves
and you knew Klopp was happy as he kept turning around to those supporters behind his dugout, battering his hands together, and yelling: ‘That’s football!’
Milan were hemmed in to the point that they retreated deeper and deeper. As in Istanbul, you knew another goal was coming.
The identity of the man who produced it may have been a surprise but there was nothing fortuitous about the strike, crisply despatched from Henderson’s right boot. He ran away screaming in delight. The job had been done.
There were moments of anxiety but Liverpool held firm. No silverware, no ticker-tape parade this time. But for Klopp and his players this was still one to savour.