Premier League champions Liverpool began their pre-season tour of Asia with a surprise 4-2 loss against Serie A side AC Milan at Kai Tak Sports Park.
Massimiliano Allegri’s counter-attacking Milan side outperformed Arne Slot’s experimental Liverpool team. For the Reds, only Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo found the net.
Liverpool arrived in Hong Kong confident after early pre-season victories over Preston North End and Stoke City.
However, their focus now shifts to facing Yokohama F. Marinos in the J.League World Challenge final on Wednesday, 30 July.
New signings Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Giorgi Mamardashvili all featured in the game, with only Hugo Ekitike absent from the lineup.
Ekitike only arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday, so his absence was expected.
With four days until their next fixture, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot addressed whether Ekitike would play some part against Yokohama F. Marinos. Slot also provided updates on injury concerns ahead of the match.
Liverpool missed their regular centre-forward Darwin Nunez on Saturday due to injury.
Harvey Elliott and Florian Wirtz took on No.10 roles but it was evident why Liverpool prioritized signing Ekitike.
Regarding Alexis Mac Allister’s fitness, Slot told LFCTV: “He hasn’t trained with the team yet.
“The plan is for him to join part of the sessions on Monday and Tuesday, so hopefully he will get some minutes with the team.”
“I’m not sure if he’ll be ready to play in the game, but others will.”
Slot added: “Endo had a minor injury, Darwin was a minor injury, and Hugo will get some minutes too. So, the team will look and feel different from tonight’s lineup.”
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