Liverpool manager Arne Slot marked his 46th birthday with his first Champions League victory in a 3-1 win against AC Milan in Italy and said it was a “great way” to celebrate.

Slot, who succeeded Champions League-winning coach Jurgen Klopp at Anfield this summer, saw his team overturn a third-minute Christian Pulisic goal to seal the win in the San Siro with goals from Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.

And the former Feyenoord coach said his team produced the perfect performance to bounce back from a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

“A great way to spend my birthday,” Slot said. “We have more than 11 players and the ones that came in did well. You wouldn’t have said this after five minutes, but after we did well.

“Losing Saturday was a blow and to be 1-0 down early tonight, you are wondering how we react.

“But if you can play so good it is — I won’t say a disgrace — unbelievable you lose to Forest at home if you can play like this today.”

Slot gave Cody Gakpo his first start of the season and was repaid with an impressive performance by the Netherlands forward and the manager said the former PSV Eindhoven player produced what he expected.

“I would have played Cody Gakpo on Saturday but he played two games for the national side,” Slot said. “Today was more a team display than an individual display.”

It was a special day, too, for Liverpool captain Van Dijk, who marked his 50th appearance in the Champions League with just his third goal in the competition.

“Obviously I am very pleased with the win and I am pleased with the way we bounced back after a difficult start,” he told Sky Italy. “Overall we put in a very good performance with and without the ball.

“When there is a set-piece we try to be important. The delivery was outstanding in my opinion. Overall I am very pleased that we won and we limited them to only two big chances.

“We have been very successful over the years and I am always grateful for that. Things have moved on, the new manager is here and he has principles that are different.

“We are working on things and there are still things to improve.”

Former Super Eagles assistant coach Emmanuel Amuneke has stated why Atalanta sensation and Ballon d’Or nominee Ademola Lookman should emerge as the next CAF African Men’s Player of the Year.

The former Barcelona winger expressed his belief that Lookman’s outstanding displays for both Atalanta and the Nigerian national team position him as a compelling candidate for this esteemed accolade.

The 26-year-old striker demonstrated exceptional performance during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring three goals and contributing with an assist.

His outstanding form extended to the club level, culminating in a hat-trick during the UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.

The former Everton player’s outstanding displays have secured him a position on the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist, where he is the sole African player nominated this year. This further solidifies his reputation as a potential future contender for the CAF Player of the Year award.

Amuneke, a previous CAF Player of the Year winner, firmly believes that Lookman has the potential to win the award.

Amuneke underscored the significance of ongoing support for Nigerian players. “We need to continue supporting our players, both in Europe and in our local leagues. We all need one another to form the ecological system that governs our football for our football to thrive.”

Lookman is competing with Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface and Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz for Africa’s top individual football award.

Football legend Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci – famed for scoring the goal that kicked Ireland out of Italia ’90 – has died aged 59 following an illness.

The Italian striker, who spent most of his club career in Italy with Messina, Juventus, and Inter Milan, had been hospitalised earlier this month with an atrial arrhythmia. He died last night, it has been announced. He had previously been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022.

Schillaci is best known internationally for winning the Golden Boot at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Despite his performance, Italy were eliminated in the semi finals.

But on Irish soil he is known as the man who scored the goal to eliminate the Republic of Ireland from the competition after making it to the quarter finals. He then went on to score the opening goal in the semi final against Argentina, but Italy then lost the game on penalties.