Liverpool kick off UEFA Champions League with 3-1 win over AC Milan

Liverpool celebrated their return to the UEFA Champions League after a one-season absence with a 3-1 victory over AC Milan at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, overcoming a shaky start with goals from Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.

The Reds got off to an awful first few minutes in the battle between the two European heavyweights, as Christian Pulisic fired the Rossoneri in front at home following a quick counterattack in the third minute, aided by Liverpool's disorganized defending.

But the visitors quickly regrouped and stamped their authority on the game, with both of the team's center-backs getting on the scoresheet before halftime and Szoboszlai wrapping up the win after the break.

"A great way to spend my birthday," said Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who turned 46 on Tuesday and was serenaded after the game by the Liverpool supporters in attendance. "You wouldn't have said this after five minutes, but after, we did well."

Pulisic found the net first for Milan, after sprinting down the right side virtually unchallenged to fire home from a tight angle.

The hosting side's celebration was short-lived, however, as the visitors from England turned things around and dominated for much of the remainder of the game.

"Shaky start with the goal that we conceded," van Dijk told Amazon Prime. "But after that, the way we stayed calm, kept playing, kept looking for the solution, I think that was very good to see."

Konate equalized in the 23rd minute after leaping high above a crowd of defenders to head in Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick, with his first goal in two-and-a-half years coming after Davide Calabria's tackle on Cody Gakpo led to the set-piece.

Skipper Van Dijk put the Reds ahead, to the delight of some 4,400 traveling fans, when he nodded home a corner from Kostas Tsimikas just before halftime.

Szoboszlai sealed the victory in the 67th minute, slotting into the far corner off Gakpo's cross after Milan gave up possession and Liverpool broke quickly.

Tuesday's other results (home teams listed first):

Juventus 3-1 PSV Eindhoven

Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa

Bayern Munich 9-2 Dynamo Kyiv

Sporting CP 2-0 Lille

Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart