Arne Slot can come to new conclusion as Liverpool flip Champions League statement on its head in Milan

Arne Slot won't ever have had a birthday like this before. On the day the Liverpool head coach turned 46, his players gave him the unique gift of a Champions League victory inside the San Siro.

And when a 3-1 win is earned with this potent mix of swagger and grit, particularly in the backyard of one of the true giants of European football, then Slot will be fully entitled to enjoy his evening that little bit more.

"I said it a few times that normally you celebrate your birthday with your family but this was a really good alternative," said Slot, dryly.

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This AC Milan side might not have the same level of worldwide stars of the 1990s or 2000s but they remain a vaunted name in the sport and are still one of the finest teams in Serie A. So when they are put to the sword so ruthlessly and efficiently as this, Slot can quite rightly arrive at the conclusion that Saturday's shock defeat to Nottingham Forest was nothing but a rare blip in what has been an otherwise flawless campaign thus far.

Liverpool and their fanbase put a brave face on for the Europa League campaign last year but clashes with the likes of LASK, Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloise were simply a reinforcement of the idea that they were in a second rate competition they had little desire to be in.

This was the antidote to all of that; they are out of the wilderness and Thursday night football has been consigned to the dustbin. And what better way to announce your return to the grand table than with a statement like this?

“I missed it," admitted captain Virgil van Dijk of the Champions League in the buildup to this game. "I can't wait to be out there hearing the Champions League tune and leading out the boys. A club like Liverpool needs to be in the Champions League."

To flip that statement on its head; the Champions League needs a club like Liverpool to be in it. The most successful English side in the competition's history are up and running once more.

Van Dijk excelled on what was his first outing as club captain in the European Cup alongside Ibrahima Konate, who was similarly impressive. The pair were rock solid all night and chipped in with a couple of vital first-half goals too.

With a name that resonates more than most across Europe, Liverpool's status as a Champions League heavyweight - especially in recent times, where they have contested three finals since 2018 - is safe and secure. Less so is the standing of their new head coach, Slot, as he led his new team out for the first time in this competition, which was the Reds' first since March 2023.

A UEFA Conference League finalist with Feyenoord two years ago, the Dutchman earned several ticks in the box for his Anfield job application thanks to that run but this tournament is the big time and it will be fascinating to see how he develops on this stage in the coming months and years. Famous European performances are something of a rite of passage for any successful boss at Anfield, so this was a stunning way to begin.

The Reds got off to the worst possible start when former Chelsea man Christian Pulisic was given the freedom of the Liverpool half to run into after Kostas Tsimikas had misjudged a press. The American carried it some distance before confidently smashing past Alisson Becker with just three minutes on the clock.

But the response spoke a lot about the character in this squad as they refused to be rattled or overawed by the scale of the task. Responding to adversity and the early concession of goals, in particular, was a skill learned the hard way last season and that muscle memory clearly remains.

Slowly, they turned the screw on their illustrious hosts and had the leveller they deserved when Konate nodded home Trent Alexander-Arnold's floated delivery before Van Dijk rose highest to steer home a second from Tsimikas's corner.

In a week where set-piece coach Nicolas Jover has earned rave reviews for his part in Arsenal's 1-0 win against local rivals Tottenham, it's worth mentioning the attention to detail of the dead-ball situations Liverpool have also been working on. It was something Slot himself referenced, saying his team got their rewards for their work.

The Reds were advertising for a set-piece coach back in the summer months on business platform Linkedin before Aaron Briggs assumed the responsibility while the wait for a permanent solution was found. On this evidence, it's a position that doesn't need to be filled any longer.

Slot had called for Dominik Szoboszlai to add more goals to his game in Monday's press conference and the Hungary captain must have been listening as he tapped home from the excellent Cody Gakpo's cut-back for his first of the season. It was the perfect way to respond to the demands from his boss.

And a word for Gakpo, whose sensational performance saw him give Slot some ample food for thought going forward. The Netherlands star seemed hell-bent on taking his chance in place of Luis Diaz and Milan simply had no answer for the pace and the power of his dribbling. He was fantastic here, particularly in the second half, and was unfortunate not to mark the game with a goal of his own as he forced Mike Maignan into a couple of saves.

Liverpool are back where they belong and in a year where the Champions League has undergone its most significant restructuring in a generation, it is fitting that the Reds are here to be part of it. The only question remains is what on earth will Slot get for his big day next year?