Like Nunez had never been away
If Darwin Nunez endured a largely frustrating time at the World Cup with Uruguay then his Liverpool return was the soothing balm for that particular irritant.
The £64m striker returned to training on Monday after flying into Dubai following a short break with his family, which came after his exploits with La Celeste in Qatar.
Andy Robertson had spoken earlier in the week about Nunez looking sharp and fresh after his near two weeks of rest and on the evidence of this blistering 25-minute cameo at the Al Maktoum Stadium, the Liverpool left-back was not merely paying lip service to his colleague.
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To describe Nunez's performance as 'all action' would be more than apt, but it's one that has been wholly in-keeping with the kind of displays Reds fans were being treated regularly to in the final weeks of the season's first half.
Nunez scored seven times in a little over a month to leave his record standing at nine goals in 18 appearances to date in all competitions. It's an early return that hints at a bright future.
Here he was a ball of energy and a hive of activity; perpetual motion across the entire front line. One passage of play toward the right side that started with him slipping as he tried to lay in Mohamed Salah ended swiftly with a snapshot at goal that forced AC Milan goalkeeper Antonio Mirante into a save.
Moments later, the former Benfica man went on a tear down the left, cruising past his marker with a mixture of pace and power before his cross brought a chance for Salah.
But it was down the centre where Nunez did his most important work and after latching on to Bobby Clark's stunning through ball, the 23-year-old made no mistake as he confidently dispatched it past Mirante to make it 3-1.
Nunez was alive and alert in the closing stages too when youngster Ben Doak produced a piece of brilliance to put it on a plate for his second. It was like he'd never been away.
Hot off the press
One of the key themes emerging from Liverpool's trip to Dubai was the chance to work on more tactical and technical ideas over the hard yards and double sessions that are normally associated with the summer months of training.
Analysis meetings detailing how to effectively reimplement the famous high press has been one of the issues for the attacking side of Liverpool's game out in the Emirates.
That much was obvious when Fabio Carvalho scored after less than 40 seconds against Lyon after the Reds had pressed the French side in their own penalty area.
The tactic which has most defined Klopp's career as a coach and, in many ways, changed how the elite teams operate in the final third - particularly out of possession - was again on show against Milan.
The Rossoneri did not get caught out as blatantly as Lyon did but at times it was difficult for the Serie A side missing many key names to break away from the dizzying blur of Liverpool's nauseating away strip.
"I think that's what people would say if you were to ask Liverpool fans or fans of other clubs, you know, 'how do you describe Liverpool in the last five years?' I think the answers would be the press offensively," Robertson said this week.
"We've been working a lot on pressing, counter-pressing and choosing our moments because in games we've not done that enough at times and in some games, we've sort of half-pressed. That is the worst thing you can do because if you go into it and you're not 100% that's when teams can pick you off."
It might only have two glorified friendlies inside Dubai's Al Maktoum Stadium this last week, but the pressing machine has been much more conspicuous than the last few months. It could yet prove to be the tactical tweak that turns around the Reds' season.
Thiago masterclass
If Liverpool are to surge up the table after Christmas then the form and fitness of Thiago Alcantara will surely be pivotal.
The Spanish midfielder oozed class throughout this game, with one flick-up and volleyed pass out to Robertson drawing gasps from the 15,000 inside the stadium.
With a radar so adept at finding the pass when it looks like there's none on, opposition defenders are naturally pinned back when the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich man shapes to roll one into his team-mates.
As Thiago looked like was going to spread one out to wide Salah in the first half, he quickly wrapped his hips around the ball, fizzing it into the feet of Harvey Elliott instead with a cunning disguise to keep the Reds on the front foot in the final third.
His goal - which was struck beautifully from the edge of the box - was nothing less than he deserved, but his performance was not just about playing the pretty passes in what was, all the hullabaloo aside, a meaningless fixture midway through the campaign.
Thiago also paired his natural ability to find his colleagues with a tigerish approach to the defensive side of things. On a handful of occasions he snapped into tackles and tried to limit Milan's own threat from the centre of the park.
Injuries have been tough at times on Thiago at Anfield but keep him fit and their chances of making that top four improve immeasurably.
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