Having already qualified top of their group, Liverpool had nothing other than pride and win bonuses to play for at the San Siro, whereas AC Milan could potentially join them with a win so long as Porto didn’t beat Atlético Madrid.
Jürgen Klopp made mass changes, keeping only three players from the side that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Alisson Becker were denied a rest as Liverpool set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation.
Stefano Pioli made five changes to the team that beat Salernitana, with Alessandro Florenzi, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Alexis Saelemaekers, Rafael Leão and Pietro Pellegri replaced by Pierre Kalulu, Sandro Tonali, Junior Messias, Rade Krunic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Milan set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape.
Milan tried to press Liverpool high up the pitch using a man-orientated system. Brahim Diaz and Ibrahimovic would split wide and each pick up a Liverpool centre-back, while Franck Kessié and Tonali would step up to pick up Tyler Morton or Takumi Minamino as he dropped back to join the academy product. Krunic and Messias played more zonally, tucking inside so that they could defend the centre but wide enough to close down Neco Williams and Kostas Tsimikas quickly.
With Krunic and Messias supporting the centre, Milan weren’t outnumbered here and one of Kessié or Tonali could stay back in front of the defence, however sometimes the pair would both get drawn forward by Liverpool’s midfielders, leaving space behind them.
This meant Liverpool could find Divock Origi between the lines. The Belgian’s size made it possible to hit long balls towards him under pressure, but he wasn’t as natural a fit for this role as Roberto Firmino or Diogo Jota – not possessing the touch or ability to link play.
Milan’s pressing left space but it did also keep them tight to Liverpool’s players, meaning they could recover the ball when Liverpool played any sloppy passes, allowing them to counter.
Neither side was really clicking though, so not a great deal was happening.
Milan took the lead from a corner. With Minamino doing a poor job of protecting the near post and Fikayo Tomori reacting quickest to Alisson’s rebound.
Liverpool soon equalised thanks to some poor Milan defending though. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shaped to pass inside so Kessié moved to his right, opening up space down his left that Oxlade-Chamberlain used to cut back in the opposite direction, burst past the Ivorian and shoot. That handballs are given regardless of intent now means the trend of defenders putting their arms behind their back makes good sense, Alessio Romagnoli showcased its negative effects: it makes it harder for the defender to keep their balance, keeping them more upright, and therefore, in this particular example, forming a much smaller barrier between the ball and goal – Romagnoli could have easily blocked Oxlade-Chamberlain’s shot but didn’t. Like Alisson, Mike Maignan saved the first ball but could do nothing for the second as Salah was quickest to the rebound.
They were similar goals, reflective of sloppy defending rather than creative play.
Shortly into the second half, Liverpool took the lead. Tomori miscontrolled the ball, allowing Mané to pounce and recover it on the edge of the area. Maignan again saved the initial shot but could do nothing to stop Origi heading home the rebound.
With the lead, Klopp took the opportunity to finally give Salah and Mané a rest and shut up shop. They were substituted for Naby Keïta and Joe Gomez, as Minamino and Williams moved forward into the winger roles. They strengthened the midfield further by bringing on Fabinho for Origi and pushing Oxlade-Chamberlain into attack.
Milan made attacking substitutions but did nothing to actually change their situation, continuing to slowly pass the ball around. Given they could have progressed to the knockout stages with a win, it was a pathetic showing by them.
What was meant to be a group of death turned out to be easy pickings for Liverpool, becoming the first English team to finish their Champions League group with a 100% record.
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