Liverpool Falls To AC Milan 2-4 In Friendly Match With Okafor's Late Goals

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AC Milan showcased their counter-attacking prowess to secure a 4-2 victory over Liverpool in a friendly match held in Hong Kong. The Italian side started with intensity, and Rafael Leao opened the scoring after just 12 minutes. He skilfully bypassed Virgil van Dijk before slotting the ball past Alisson. Despite this early setback, Liverpool managed to level the score in the 26th minute.

Rio Ngumoha set up Dominik Szoboszlai, who curled a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. However, Milan responded strongly in the second half's opening quarter-hour. Ruben Loftus-Cheek deceived Milos Kerkez with a dummy before calmly finishing past Giorgi Mamardashvili. Shortly after, Noah Okafor capitalised on another swift counter-attack to extend Milan's lead.

Alexis Saelemaekers provided a low pass for Okafor, who finished with composure to make it 3-1 in the 59th minute. Ryan Gravenberch, who remained on the pitch for Liverpool throughout, nearly reduced the deficit but hit the woodwork with a long-range effort soon after. Cody Gakpo managed to score for Liverpool in stoppage time with a looping header over Pietro Terracciano.

Despite Gakpo's late goal making it 3-2, Liverpool could not find an equaliser. Instead, they conceded again when Kostas Tsimikas' back pass was intercepted by Okafor. The Swiss international raced past Mamardashvili to tap into an empty net, sealing Milan's win.

Liverpool were without new signing Hugo Ekitike and also missed Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz due to transfer speculations. Despite these absences, they created numerous opportunities with 18 attempts and seven on target but only achieved an expected goals (xG) of 1.17. Their defence was weakened further as Joe Gomez had to leave due to injury.

Milan proved more efficient with their chances, taking ten shots and hitting the target eight times while accumulating an xG of 2.12. This clinical performance highlighted their superiority in exploiting counter-attacks against Liverpool's defence.

The match concluded with AC Milan demonstrating their tactical edge through effective counter-attacks and precise finishing against Liverpool's faltering attack.