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Milan's Rafael Leao flexed his legs and drove from the halfway line after a pass from Christian Pulisic, before being forced into a narrow angle.

The Portugal star nevertheless fired a ferocious effort as Virgil van Dijk failed to cover enough ground and the ball beat Alisson Becker for speed as it rose high into the net at the near post after 10 minutes.

Liverpool were soon back holding possession with both teams showing the sloppiness associated with football in July.



The Reds were once again punished by an early break from Leao.

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek played in the ball for Leao to run the length of the half but this time he returned the ball back to the England international.

We thought it was better to assess it back in England and for him to work on him to come back to the team, probably in more ideal circumstances for him."

The decision leaves Liverpool with just two senior central defenders in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

Both were cheered as they came out of the tunnel and took their places on the bench in club gear.

Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister were not involved on Saturday(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The duo have been linked with possible exits this summer and until there is an update, Slot's decision to leave them out of the matchday squad will only fan the flames of that possibility.

The Germany international played just the opening 45 minutes as he made his debut in front of fans but still left plenty to whet the appetite.

The Hungary star played well in a deeper position and produced the moment of the match with his casual first half strike.

Dominik Szoboszlai thrived even with Florian Wirtz on the pitch(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Each goal Liverpool conceded arrived on the break and down the wings.

Players are still getting up to speed, learning to play with each other and how they should be spaced to shut down such opportunities.

Nothing to worry about yet, but perhaps one to keep an eye on given the attacking prospects that are expected from the full-back positions following the arrivals of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez this summer.

Rafael Leao of AC Milan celebrates after scoring the opening goal and remembers Diego Jota(Image: Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)

Diogo Jota will never be far from Liverpool hearts and minds and the Reds star was once again at the centre of thoughts on Saturday.
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