Jonathan Liew’s match report is here, so I’ll leave you with that. Goodnight!
Cody Gakpo’s reaction
Overall we controlled the game pretty well and I think it’s fair a result. We remained calm after going 1-0 down and stayed focussed, and we have to thank our centre-backs for the goals.
Every player wants to play. I got my moment and I really wanted to show myself. I’m very happy with the assist and especially the win.
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Tonight’s Champions League results, aka Villa are no longer top of the Champions League but they’ve still had a fantastic night
Juventus 3-1 PSV
Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb (Kane 4)
Milan 1-3 Liverpool
Sporting 2-0 Lille
Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
Full time: AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool
Liverpool start the new Champions League era with a calm, authoritative victory over AC Milan. They snoozed the alarm for the first 15 minutes, during which Christian Pulisic put Milan ahead, but after that they were much the better side. Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk turned the game round with first-half headers; then, just as Milan were threatening to get back in the game, the excellent Dominik Szoboszlai finished the match with a clever third goal.
Liverpool hit their third of the night with a quick break-away goal 💨
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) September 17, 2024
Dominik Szoboszlai steers the ball into the back of the net to give the Reds a two-goal cushion ⚽️#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/lJginnI3pB
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90+7 min: Leao hits the post! Rafa Leao turns Gomez inside out and smashes a shot that is pushed onto the near post by Alisson. Good save.
90+5 min The ever eager Nunez nips in front of the keeper Torriani to collect a loose ball, turns and drills a shot that Tobbiani saves at the second attempt.
The move was started by Szoboszlai who, as Alan Shearer points out on Amazon Prime, has had a superb game.
90+3 min: Double substitution for Liverpool Federico Chiesa comes on to make his Liverpool debut in place of Mo Salah. Wataru Endo replaces Alexis Mac Allister.
90 min There will be six minutes of added time, mainly because of the injury to… well it doesn’t matter.
86 min Milan take a quick corner on the left. Hernandez crosses and Gabbia heads wide from 12 yards. Not much of a chance.
85 min Pulisic’s cross deflects to Reijnders on the edge of the area. His shot is blocked, then Theo Hernandez cracks a decent long-range effort just wide of the far post. Alisson probably had it covered.
85 min Rafa Leao is lucky not to be booked for booting Konate in the gut.
84 min: Double substitution for Milan Noah Okafor and Matteo Gabbia replace Morata and Tomori.
83 min Nunez hooks a clever volley not far wide from Szoboszlai’s cross, though there was an offside in the build-up.
80 min Konate is booked for rattling somebody’s bones, Abraham I think.
80 min Harry Kane has now scored four, three of them penalties, and Bayern Munich are 7-2 up against Zagreb. That game is over; so, in all probability, is this.
79 min: Liverpool substitution Joe Gomez for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was excellent on the ball as always. He takes his time leaving the field, which doesn’t impress a few of the Milan players.
77 min “Ouch!” says Matt Dony. “As Miracle Max said, ‘Why don’t you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it.’”
76 min Abraham nutmegs Alexander-Arnold to start a promsing Milan move that ends with a nothing cross from Morata.
76 min In other news, Harry Kane has scored a hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb. Taha Hashim has more.
75 min Van Dijk almost gets his second, stretching to head Tsimikas’s corner over the bar. Not a bad chance.
74 min On 13 October 2021, Maignan underwent surgery to his left wrist injury and he was expected to be out of action for ten weeks, but returned to the field after six weeks.
73 min Rafa Leao charges majestically away from Konate, the first time he has done that tonight, gets to the edge of the six-yard box and slides a cross that is superbly cut out by the sliding Gravenberch. Terrific defending, that.
The resulting corner is taken short and worked to Reijnders, who shoots miles over from distance.
72 min The timing of that goal has flattened Milan, who were starting to build a little bit of momentum.
Alisson almost does them a solid by haring out of the area and giving the ball straight to a Milan player, but his cross-shot from the touchline doesn’t have the legs.
71 min Maignan came through the youth teams at Paris Saint-Germain, where he often served as an unused substitute. In 2015 he joined Lille for €1 million, and became their first-choice in 2017. He was voted Ligue 1‘s goalkeeper of the year in 2018–19, and won the league title in 2020–21. He then moved to AC Milan for €15 million, winning Serie A in his first season and making the Team of the Season.
70 min: AC Milan double subsitution Emerson Royal and Tammy Abraham replace the limping Davide Calabria and the underwhelming Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
69 min Mike Peterson Maignan (born 3 July 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club AC Milan and the France national team. Considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, he is known for his reflexes, distribution and leadership qualities.
68 min: Double substitution for Liverpool Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez replaces Cody Gakpo, who had a fine game, and Diogo Jota.
GOAL! AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool (Szoboszlai 67)
Liverpool get the job done on the break. Szoboszlai fed Gakpo, who slowed down to dupe Pavlovic, then sped past him and clipped a cross back into the middle. It came an awkward height to Szoboszlai, who reacted smartly to knee the ball into the far corner.
Liverpool hit their third of the night with a quick break-away goal 💨
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) September 17, 2024
Dominik Szoboszlai steers the ball into the back of the net to give the Reds a two-goal cushion ⚽️#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/lJginnI3pB
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66 min MIKE MAIGNAN.
66 min “Now, I know we don’t like to go too niche on MBMs,” deadpans Matt Dony. “but every time I see the name Mike Maignan, I read it as Mike Mangini, the virtuoso drummer. (Apologies in advance for the lack of relevance!) Mike Mangini was playing with the guitarist Nuno Bettencourt at a small show at a music trade show I attended in the late 90s as a wide-eyed teen.
“During the show, part of the drum rack fell apart. While it was being put together, in order to fill time, Nuno asked if anyone wanted to come up and play guitar with him. Naturally, my hand went straight up. But the person who got chosen was standing directly in front of me. Yes, I’m still bitter. That was my chance. I’ve long thought that I’m not a rock star because of that sliding-doors moment.
“I haven’t yet pinpointed the reason I’m not a professional footballer. Or rugby player. Or writer.”
The good news is that he’s off the field now so you won’t be reminded of it for the rest of this game.
64 min Mac Allister angles a really clever pass behind the Milan defence to find Szoboszlai on the left edge of the six-yard box. He has to move away from goal at first, then turns to hit a shot that is well blocked by Torriani. It comes back to Szoboszlai, who tees up the supporting Tsimikas. He crunches a shot across goal and wide.
63 min Milan have some good attacking options on the bench, including Tammy Abraham and Samuel Chukwueze. It has certainly been a more even contest since half-time.
61 min Milan are having more of the ball in the second half, and Liverpool need to be careful that they don’t give them too much encouragement by sitting on a 2-1 lead.
60 min Morata flies through the air to control Pavlovic’s ball into the box, then goes over after a challenge from Gakpo. The referee gives handball against Morata, who fell onto the ball. Morata is insistent that he was fouled; replays suggests he initiated the contact with Gakpo.
Milan’s manager Paulo Fonseca is booked.
58 min A better attack from Milan. Pulisic belts a crossfield pass out to Rafa Leao, who controls it on the chest, gets to the byline and cuts the ball back towards the penalty spot. There’s nobody there in a Milan shirt and Liverpool clear.
57 min Torriani makes a comfortable save from a shot on the turn by whoever the hell it was. Szoboszlai I think.
57 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Starting XI (22 mins) only have 11 dates on their current European tour. If they, or indeed support act Swiss Model, want to make it big, they’ll need to add quite a few more. 100 gigs a season is the bare minimum I reckon. If Dylan/Swift can do it, why not Rodri?”
56 min Loftus-Cheek surges through midfield and finds Leao, who loses the ball to Konate and is offside anyway. Konate has dealt really well with Leao so far.
55 min The little Uefa stat panel confirms Liverpool’s dominance. They’ve had 15 shots to Milan’s two, eight of them on target.
53 min After a longish spell of Milan possession, Mac Allister leaves a bit on Fofana and is booked.
52 min: Milan substitution Lorenzo Torriani, 19, replaces Mike Maignan, who puts his shirt over his head as he limps from the field. He’s able to walk but he’s in a lot of distress.
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50 min Maignan is sitting up but his game is clearly over. It’s not immediately clear what the problem is, possibly his left ankle.
48 min: Fine save! Maignan slaps the ground repeatedly in pain after making a terrific, brave save at the feet of Jota. Alexander-Arnold and Gakpo combined to find Jota eight yards out. Maignan dived at his feet to block the shot and then took a whack from both Jota and the challenging Tomori.
47 min The Milan keeper Mike Maignan came out after half-time but is clearly struggling. There are only a couple of teenager keepers on the bench; even so, Milan play Inter on Sunday so it makes no sense to keep him on.
46 min Milan begin the second half. No changes on either side yet.
Aston Villa are top of the Champions League, fact
And here’s our report on Juventus 3-1 PSV Eindhoven.
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Half time: Milan 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool lead at San Siro after a impressive, cool-headed fightback. They were stung on the break in the third minute by Christian Pulisic, but the centre-halves Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk made reparations by scoring with emphatic close-range headers.
Liverpool had plenty of chances in open play as well. Mo Salah hit the bar twice, Diogo Jota grazed the post and Mike Maignan had to make two or three pretty good saves.
45+4 min A stinging 20-yarder from Gakpo, who has looked bright, is pushed away one-handed by the diving Maignan. That’s a pretty good save because Gakpo’s effort came right out of the sweet spot.
45+3 min “Oh, how I like a Liverpool comeback against Milan!” says Colum Fordham, speaking for, well never mind. “Shades of 2005! Salah is on fire against the Devils of Milan and Van Dijk has shown how much he missed Champions League football with that header. Game on!”
45+2 min Leao surges dangerously infield, then goes over 30 yards from goal after being leaned on by Konate. He thought it was a foul; the referee didn’t.
45+2 min “The hosts’ six-yard box has turned into a Milan catwalk for strutting Liverpool defenders!” chirps Peter Oh.
45 min Five minutes of added time, mainly for the stoppage after Christian Pulisic’s early goal.
45 min “Let me be the first to say, Slot in,” says Niall Mullen.
Too late: #SlotIn effing sexy bald cee is already doing the rounds.
44 min Rafa Leao spins Alexander-Arnold stylishly on the left and wafts a dangerouis cross towards the far post. Pulisic gets the wrong side of Tsimikas, who leans on him just enough to ensure Pulisic can’t throw himself into a diving header. Milan appeal for a penalty but I’ll be surprised if VAR get involved.
43 min A long-range snapshot from Tsimikas goes well wide. Whatever the merits of Milan’s defending, there’s no doubt Liverpool deserve to be ahead. They woke up in around the 15th minute and since then it’s been extremely one-sided.
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Tsimikas curled a good, inswinging corner into the six-yard box, where Van Dijk lost his marker and timed his jump perfectly to head past Maignan. That was a bit too easy for Liverpool, well taken though it was,.
GOAL! AC Milan 1-2 Liverpool (Van Dijk 41)
Liverpool have scored again from a set piece!
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40 min Another good effort from Salah, this time after a fast Liverpool break. He cut inside Pavlovic on the edge of the area and reversed a low shot towards the near post. It probably would have hit the post but Maignan got down to push it behind for a corner.
40 min “I don’t know about Kári Tulinius’ “nerds-only” categorization,” protests Justin Kavanagh, “but I’ve been studying Liverpool’s freshly excavated, European adventures origin film for several hours minutes now and clearly there was a whiteout snowstorm at minute 1:06, and thereafter the camera crew felt no need to capture the Englishers doing goals action, merely being content to point their camera at the scoreboard occasionally. It’s great stuff. A Tardis for anoraks everywhere. This is the Zapruder film of Scouser football!”
39 min Gakpo gives Maignan an impromptu fitness test with a low shot from 25 yards. Maignan moves across his line to make a comfortable save.
38 min He’s okay to continue for now.
36 min The Milan keeper Maignan is down again so there’s another break in play.
35 min Tsimikas wins a corner for Liverpool, whose precision and speed is too much for Milan right now. Nothing comes of Alexander-Arnold’s corner.
32 min The resulting free-kick is at least 30 yards from goal. Prohibitive for most players but not when you strike the ball as well as Alexander-Arnold. He whistles a low drive that is kicked away near the penalty spot.
31 min Another thing Liverpoiol have done well up to now is keep Rafa Leao quiet. In fact most of Milan’s threat has been on the other side.
Fofana is booked for trying to pull backl Salah, who looks so sharp.
30 min: Salah hits the bar again! Gakpo’s dangerous cross-shot from the left side of the area is turned away by the diving Maignan. Salah retrieves the loose ball with dizzying speed and pokes an early shot that hits the underside of the bar before bouncing off Maignan to safety. That was a really good effort from Salah.
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29 min Milan are slowing the game down when they get, a sensible short-term approach because they’re in danger of being overwhelmed by Liverpool.
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27 min Salah shoots straight at Maignan from 12 yards after good play by Alexander-Arnold. There were two defenders nearby so it was nowhere near as good a cha nce as Jota’s.
26 min: Jota misses a great chance! Blimey, Diogo Jota rarely misses chances like that. Mac Allister ran at a backpedalling defence and timed a short pass perfectly to put Jota through on goal, 12 yards out. His left-foot shot beat Maignan but clipped the outside of the post.
25 min Calabria complained after the goal as well, arguing it wasn’t a foul on Gakpo. It looked a blatant foul from here. I’m fascinated by how many modern footballers scream injustice even when they are bang to rights.
The free-kick, just outside the area on the left, was flipped insouciantly into the six-yard box by Alexander-Arnold. Konate got above Tomori and the outrushing Maignan to head emphatically into the net. Lovely ball, good header. Next!
Liverpool are level 🤝
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) September 17, 2024
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free kick is headed home by Ibrahima Konate 💥#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/j2nB1iPhvO
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GOAL! Milan 1-1 Liverpool (Konate 23)
A double punishment for Davide Calabria!
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23 min Calabria takes an old-fashioned shortcut through Gakpo, is rightly booked and looks thoroughly affronted.
22 min “That official AC Milan teamsheet post looks like a very nicely made tour poster for a band touring their third album,” says Jon Collin. “I can’t decide whether to see Starting XI in Calabria on the 2nd or Reijnders on the 14th. I hear Swiss Model are opening for them.”
I can’t believe they haven’t picked King Tut’s though./
Your Rossoneri team to take on the Reds 📋#MilanLiverpool #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/E0CtKaKiCq
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 17, 2024
20 min Gravenberch steals possession 25 yards from goal, only for Szoboszlai to give it back to Milan. It feels like Liverpool are starting to take control.
19 min “Let me be the first to say: Slot out,” says Niall Mullen.
Too late. The list of hashtags includes one particularly considered effort: #Slotout effing ess bald cee.
I wish I was making this up.
17 min: Salah hits the bar! Jota, on the half turn, plays a quick short pass into Salah on the edge of the area. He shifts the ball away from Pavlovic, onto his right foot, and batters a rising drive that beats Maignan and thumps off the underside of the bar. Fine effort.
16 min A mischipped cross from Gakpo almost sneaks in at the far post, with Maignan looking wide-eyed for a couple of seconds. Salah tried to keep it in play but couldn’t.
15 min Milan are cutting through Liverpool’s midfield with surprising ease, particularly in transition. Liverpool are dominating possession but Milan have been more incisive. Long way to go etc.
14 min “Dyche & Gabbana” is the promising subject of Peter Oh’s email. “Arne Slot may be in one of the fashion capitals of the world but his outfit looks influenced more by Sean Dyche than Dolce & Gabbana.”
At least he didn’t go for Sergio Georgini.
13 min Tsimikas makes an important last-ditch challenge on Morata, who might otherwise have been through on goal. He might also have been offside though.
10 min Milan look content to play on the break. Rafa Leao has the first chance to run at Konate, playing that hybrid centre-back/right-back role so that Alexander-Arnold can do his thing, but he overruns the ball and is dispossessed.
9 min “What a cracker of a game this promises to be,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Van Dijk was so looking forward to hearing the Big Cup anthem again that he forgot he is on the field as a defender probably. I predict a 1-2 final scoreline.”
Arf. We haven’t seen a replay so I’m not sure who, if anybody, was responsible for the goal. Konate was damned if he came across and damned if he didn’t, so I can understand him staying put. It was a cracking finish as well.
7 min Both players are okay to continue, and the match resumes just under four minutes after Pulisic’s goal.
A dream start for Milan 🌟
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) September 17, 2024
Christian Pulisic sends the home crowd wild with a goal inside three minutes 🙌#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/GRUDxhJLpC
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6 min The match still hasn’t resumed because both Maignan and Theo Hernandez are receiving treatment.
Milan cut through Liverpool so easily in their own half, with Morata playing a return pass to release Pulisic. He was allowed to ran all the way from his own half into the Liverpool area; then, as Mac Allister finally got back to challenge, he drilled a low shot across Alisson and into the corner. That’s an excellent finish from a pretty tight angle.
I’m not sure what happened to Liverpool’s defence there but Tsimikas and Van Dijk were nowhere and Konate was reluctant to come across.
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GOAL! AC Milan 1-0 Liverpool (Pulisic 3)
Christian Pulisic bangs AC Milan in front!
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2 min Reijnders gets behind the Liverpool defence on the left, offside but not flagged. He slides the ball across the six-yard box, past Alisson, and Van Dijk does really well to put the ball behind rather than into his own net. And then the flag goes up.
1 min Peep peep! Liverpool get the game under way, kicking from left to right as we watch.
SPINE-TINGLING! 🔊
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) September 17, 2024
The UEFA Champions League anthem at the San Siro.#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/k4knb9ChIs
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Istreh is a wheel
“Admittedly this is mostly of interest to nerds, but the National Film Archive of Iceland announced today that they’d found four minutes of previously unseen footage of Liverpool’s first ever European match, held in Reykjavík against local team KR,” writes Kári Tulinius. “You can see the clip, filmed by Vilhjálmur Knudsen, on the website of the Icelandic broadcasting service RÚV.”
Mostly of interest to nerds my foot: this is fantastic!
A reminder of the teams
AC Milan (4-1-2-3ish) Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Fofana; Reijnders, Loftus-Cheek; Pulisic, Morata, Rafael Leao.
Subs: Nava, Torriani, Okafor, Zeroli, Chukwueze, Emerson Royal, Bartesaghi, Terracciano, Gabbia, Abraham, Musah.
Liverpool (4-2-1-3ish) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Gakpo.
Subs: Jaros, Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Diaz, Nunez, Chiesa, Jones, Robertson, Quansah, Morton, Bradley.
Referee Espen Eskas (Norway)
The two early games are done and dusted
Juventus 3-1 PSV
Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
That means, for the next two hours at least, ASTON VILLA ARE TOP OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.
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There’s a spectacular atmosphere in San Siro. It sounds like the build-up to a semi-final second leg, not the first European game of the season.
Amadou Onana has put Villa 3-0 up in Switzerland. All things being equal, they are going to be really good fun to watch in this competition.
Plenty of other big clubs are in action tonight, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United. You can follow their games, and more, with Taha Hashim.
“Traditional powerhouse AC Milan has exactly zero Italian attacking players in the starting XI?!” says Peter Oh. “What does that say about the state of Italian football?”
You’ve seen Liverpool’s front six, right? And England won Euro 2024!
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The pre-match thoughts of Arne Slot
It’s a special occasion because Liverpool weren’t in the Champions League last season so we’re looking forward to being in it.
[On the changes] It is managing minutes, and we have more than 11 good playters. Today it’s Kostas and Cody. It’s all about them doing what they have to do for the team, and hopefully as a result of that we’ll get the best individual performance out of them as well.
Liverpool missed out on the Champions League last season, so this is their first game since a trip to Madrid in March 2023. Virgil van Dijk is glad to be back.
Alisson isn’t quite so full of the joys.
Half time: Young Boys 0-2 Aston Villa
Juventus v PSV is one of two games that have just reached half-time. Aston Villa, playing their first European Cup march since March 1983, are 2-0 up away to Young Boys thanks to Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey. Ollie Watkins had a third goal VARed just before half-time.
You can follow that game with our resident MBM genius Scott Murray.
Team news: Tsimikas and Gakpo start
Arne Slot makes a couple of changes from Liverpool’s defeat to Forest. In: Kostas Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo. Out: Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz.
Milan make three changes, bringing in Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori and Alvaro Morata for Emerson Royal, Matteo Gabbia and Tammy Abraham. Despite his absence there are four ex-Chelsea players in the starting XI.
Your Rossoneri team to take on the Reds 📋#MilanLiverpool #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/E0CtKaKiCq
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 17, 2024
Our side to take on AC Milan this evening 👊 #ACMLIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 17, 2024
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How the Swiss Model works
This is the short version.
36 teams each play eight games between now and the end of January.
The top eight go through to the last 16.
The bottom 12 go home (not to the Europa League, not even with their bus fare).
The teams that finish 9th to 24th play off for a place in the last 16.
Confused? Of course you are. Now all I need are the last three digits on the back of the card.
The answer to a popular quiz question of the future is Kenin Yildiz. He scored the opening goal of the Champions League’s Swiss Model era for Juventus against PSV Eindhoven. It was a fine goal, or, in the parlanace of our time, CAPITAL LETTERS GOOD. Weston McKennie has since made it 2-0.
Kenan Yıldız gets his first Champions League goal with an INCREDIBLE strike to give Juventus the lead against PSV 🔥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 17, 2024
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/AN7McIkHc3
Preamble
And now for $omething €ompl£t£ly diff£r£nt: the beginning of the Champions League’s Swiss Model era. Think of it as men’s football’s answer to Brat summer, only with less hedonism, loads more anxiety, billions of pounds being trousered by suits and a mysterious spate of soft-tissue injuries.
So far it’s going well, with one of the best players in the world marking the big day by confirming he and his peers have had their fill of games being added to the calendar.
Whatever you think of the new format – I can see both sides! – it will still end with Real Madrid one lucky team enjoying the greatest high in club football. The magic of becoming European champions will never fade. AC Milan and Liverpool, who meet tonight, have done so seven and six times respectively, with only Real Madrid winning the competition more often.
Both clubs are European Cup royalty. Alas, if we’re talking royalty, in recent times Milan have been more like [redacted]. They haven’t reached the final since beating Liverpool 2-1 in Athens in 2007. In fact they’ve only reached the semi-final once in the last 17 years, and even that memory must stay in a sealed box: after fighting their way past Spurs and Napoli in 2022-23, they were hammered by Internazionale in the last four.
Liverpool have reached the final in three of their last six Champions League campaigns and have begun the season well under Arne Slot, even if they ran head first into a tree against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Milan are 10th in Serie A after a mixed start under Paulo Fonseca, but they are joint top-scorers and hammered Venezia 4-0 at the weekend.
I’d love to say this is a must-win game for both sides, but I don’t want to lie to you. Not yet. We may eventually reflect that the result of tonight’s game was decisive; right now it feels less about jeopardy and more about novelty.
Kick off 8pm.
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