Salah strikes again as Liverpool beat AC Milan 2-0

FIKAYO TOMORI is part of a select group of Englishmen who have made a name for themselves in Italy. But, yesterday night at the San Siro, Tomori’s night started out well only to finish in misery when his blunder led to an attack that resulted in Divock Origi scoring another crucial goal for Liverpool.

Milan failed to advance to the final 16 of the Champions League as a result of their perfect record, despite the fact that they would have anticipated to do better against a much-changed Reds team.

While it is a great feat for Zlatan Ibramovich to be on this platform at the age of 40, the Swede appeared to be his age here.

Klopp remarked before the game that Dortmund thought Origi resembled Robert Lewandowski in 2016.

While it may be a stretch, it takes a unique type of athlete that is content to sit on the bench but can perform well when called upon.

Similarly, the Belgian is a better technical player than some supporters believe, and he made a difference for a young Liverpool side last night.

It also helps to have a player as talented as Mo Salah on your team. He equalized for his 20th goal of the season, canceling out Tomori’s opener.

When you consider that Salah has reached that level in just 21 appearances for Klopp this season, it’s easy to see why Chelsea will always be kicking themselves for letting him go.

Tomori was another player who Chelsea let go recently, this summer.

With the exception of Trevor Francis, David Platt, Gordon Cowans, David Beckham, Ray Wilkins, and Paul Ince, few English players have received accolades from Italian football fans.

Jimmy Greaves would have been a huge hit if he had stayed in Italy for long enough.

Tomori, who was on loan from Chelsea last season, signed a £25 million deal that could be worth £30 million.

He has established himself as an important player of Stefan Pioli’s team, which has now risen to the top of Serie A.

But it was a mixed night for the central defender, who was one of only four Englishmen to start the game, along with Nat Phillips, 19-year-old midfielder Tyler Morton, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Milan’s first chance fell to Tomori via a header, but Alisson, who was making his 150th appearance for the club, made light work of it.

Ibrahomivic didn’t see much of the ball, and he squandered his first half chance in a dangerous area by being far too sluggish for Ibrahima Konate, who sent the ball out for a corner.

However, Milan took the lead from that set piece, and Liverpool’s defence was a complete disaster.

Takumi Minamino was the main offender, as he attempted to cut off the corner with a sluggish leg but utterly missed the ball.

Alisson deflected the ball to a thankful Tomori, who raced past Sadio Mane to score only his second goal for Milan and first of the season.

Tomori screamed and slammed his fist against his chest, and the San Siro, which was already at 75% capacity due to Covid 19 limits, went insane. Milan had moved into second position thanks to the score, but their lead did not last long.

Salah quickly equalized, putting the ball into the roof of the net after keeper Maignan deflected an Oxlade-Chamberlain drive directly into Salah’s path.

While Mane’s shot was brilliantly punched away by Miagan, the ball fell nicely for Origi, who headed into an empty net.

Klopp made some changes, which included the withdrawal of former Roma forward Salah, who received a standing ovation from the Milan fans.

Salah is currently performing at a level that we have only seen from Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Liverpool supporters will be hoping he returns from the African Cup of Nations unscathed.