Milan Suffered First Preseason Defeat Against Liverpool

AC Milan picked up their first defeat in preseason after being beaten 2-0 by Liverpool this weekend in ICC tournament. Rossoneri made some changes compared to their previous penalty shoot out win over Bayern Munich and that new setup, notably up front didn't seem too effective, notably up front where head coach Vincenzo Montella tried Luiz Adriano as center forward flanked by M'baye Niang and Suso. Niang was less effective playing wide compared to the time when he was leading the front line against Bayern.

Things got more difficult as the different playing style of Luiz Adriano up front compared to Niang was quite clear, especially when trying to break away quickly as the Brazilian was not as direct as his French teammate. Making the situation more difficult, Rossoneri seemingly looking rather tired as they can only keep up with Jurgen Klopp's men for the first 10-15 of each half and seemingly losing their focus along with energy as time wears on.

Nevertheless, two Liverpool goals happened from defensive errors, mainly from young center back, Jherson Vergara, who still look out of place in that game. The injury to Rodrigo Ely made things rather difficult for Montella as his selection of center back got thinner, making it difficult to give more rest for Alessio Romagnoli along with Gabriel Paletta. Reds first was scored by Divock Origi from a direct long ball up front, while the second was netted by Roberto Firmino. Milan's lack of fitness level got more evident as they were trying to chase that game as they struggle to keep up with Liverpool's pace and energy. 

It's very normal that Milan would be suffering physically as it was just their third friendly game, compared to Liverpool that already had more than five preseason games already. Nevertheless, there was an obvious disappointment from Rossoneri players though they look really exhausted as many players looked like they can't really wait to get out of the pitch. Montella was not to concern with that result as he believes that his side are still in the right path. 

AC Milan line up vs Liverpool:

Gabriel (g); Abate, Vergara, Romagnoli (Paletta), Antonelli (Calabria); Montolivo, Bertolacci (Kucka), Zanellato(Matri); Niang (Honda), Suso (Bonaventura), Luiz Adriano (Poli)

Video highlight of AC Milan's game against Liverpool: