Henderson helps Liverpool down Milan

Just as they did in their historic Champions League final win over AC Milan in 2005, Liverpool staged a remarkable comeback against the Rossoneri to begin their Champions League journey with a win.

AC Milan and Liverpool had met only twice before Wednesday’s Champions League meeting at Anfield.

However, the stakes were far higher in both of those previous matches.

In their first-ever encounter, Liverpool overcame a 3-0 halftime deficit to win the match in penalties in the 2005 Champions League final.

Milan had the perfect opportunity to avenge their final defeat when they met Merseyside outfit once again in the Champions League final two years later.

This time, the Milanese club successfully held on to their lead and took the trophy home, beating Liverpool 2-1.

Back after 7 years

AC Milan traveled to Anfield to play their first Champions League match in seven years, and they almost made the night even more memorable.

Liverpool is always a force to reckon with at home. The Anfield crowd was loud as always, giving the home team a significant lift on the pitch.

With the iconic ‘’You Will Never Walk Alone’’ anthem sung by thousands of Liverpool fans in the stands, the Reds made a strong start to the match.

Jurgen Klopp rested Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk in the match, but in the first quarter of the game, there were no signs of a weakened Liverpool side.

As a result, Liverpool opened the scoring within nine minutes of kick-off.

Trent Alexander Arnold put in a vicious cross inside the Milan box which ricocheted off of Fikayo Tomori’s body and made it to the Liverpool net.

The visitors did not get much time to reorganize following the unfortunate own goal they had conceded.

Liverpool forwards were breaching the Milan defense with ease, and it only seemed like a matter of time until Liverpool extend their lead.

In the 14th minute, Ismael Bennacer used his hand to block an Andy Robertson shot inside the Milan penalty box, and the referee didn’t hesitate to point towards the spot.

Mohamed Salah, who successfully converted all 17 of the previous penalties he took, stepped up to take the spot-kick for Liverpool.

But, his penalty streak came to an end as Mike Maignan kept his shot out.

Liverpool kept on pushing for a second, but their lack of ruthlessness in front of the box kept the score-line unchanged. Until the 42nd minute, it was one-way traffic.

Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz brought upon pin-drop silence in the Kop as they struck in quick succession to hand Milan a surprise lead before the first half break.

Despite a dominant display, the hosts went down the tunnel trailing in halftime.

Liverpool did not take long to respond. In the 48th minute, Mohamed Salah atoned for his missed penalty and restored parity.

Divock Origi, the man who emerged as Liverpool’s knight in shining armor in many European nights before, once again proved useful as he brilliantly set up the goal for the Egyptian.

The turnaround was complete when Jordan Henderson channeled his inner Steven Gerrard to strike in the 69th minute.

Ismael Bennacer headed away a Trent Alexander Arnold corner only to steer it towards the path of the Liverpool captain.

Henderson gave Maignan no chance as he found the bottom-right corner of the net.