Liverpool vs AC Milan. International Champions Cup.
Levi's Stadium.
Sunday 31 July 2016 16:52, UK
Goals from substitutes Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino earned Liverpool a 2-0 win over AC Milan in the International Champions Cup on Sunday.
New signings Georginio Wijnaldum, Ragnar Klavan and Sadio Mane all started the friendly match at Levi's Stadium in California, but it was two familiar faces that earned the victory from the bench.
Origi opened the scoring with a curling shot in the 59th minute before Firmino sealed the win with a close-range goal 17 minutes from time.
Liverpool will now head to St Louis for the final date of their US tour and a match against another Italian club, Roma, on Tuesday.
Jurgen Klopp made seven changes from the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday and handed a debut to Wijnaldum following his summer move from Newcastle.
Seventeen-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold started at right-back and James Milner was played in an unfamiliar left-back role, but the Liverpool defence was not tested in a first half devoid of clear chances.
Liverpool dominated possession, but Klopp grew visibly impatient on the touchline as they consistently failed to deliver in the final third.
And when, in the 41st minute, Phillippe Coutinho finally produced a quality ball into the path of Mane, the Senegal international shot straight at the body of Gabriel when clean through on goal.
Mane was one of six players replaced at half-time - along with Wijnaldum, Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge - and one of the replacements scored the opening goal with a rare moment of magic.
Origi collected a long pass from Alberto Moreno on the left of the area and cut inside to brilliantly beat Gabriel Paletta before unleashing a sweet right-footed shot that curled beyond Gabriel.
Two more substitutes combined to produce the second as Oluwaseyi Ojo broke down the right and his deflected cross was well-anticipated by Firmino, who slid in ahead of Ignazzio Abate to score at the far post.
Liverpool felt they should have scored a second two minutes earlier when Origi was incorrectly flagged for offside, but after Firmino's goal the result was never in doubt.
M'Baye Niang wasted AC Milan's best chance on 61 minutes when he failed to connect with Abate's cross, while Gabriel produced a superb save to deny Firmino a second goal with two minutes left.
Liverpool's International Champions Cup campaign concludes against Barcelona at Wembley Stadium next Saturday, while AC Milan face Chelsea in Minneapolis in the early hours of Thursday morning.
