Liverpool v AC Milan at Bank Of America Stadium

My beloved Liverpool....here....in Charlotte!  I can't believe this.  I had my ticket the minute the went on sale and couldn't be happier.  Well almost.  A lack of available babysitter meant that Amy could come with me, but Drew bought Erica, and her son Vince instead.  So still a good crew.

We arrived early and, as usual for Bank Of America Stadium, there are a lot of people milling around before heading in.  I'm not sure what I expected but I would guess roughly 90% of the crowd had Liverpool gear on, a few AC Milan shirts could be seen, and then a spattering of other English Premier League team shirts.  I paid good money and was happy with our seats, about half way between the penalty box and the halfway line.  And high enough up, but not in the nosebleeds.  We walked to our seats, past one of the boxes to see Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush having a beer.  I'm 10 rows in from of God and a Liverpool great who was a hero when I started supporting them.  I wish Nicky Meyers was with me - I didn't have the balls to ask for an autograph.  So  before kick off and I'm already on a high.

Bank Of America Stadium  -Liverpool v AC Milan

Liverpool looked really good from the outset and Joe Allen reacted quickly to slot a rebound off the post into net at 117 minutes.  Liverpool then continued to surge forward and won a penalty, which new boy Ricky Lambert took (a great penalty taker in years gone by).  He couldn't capitalize.  I hope this is not a sign of his season to come.

At half time I went and bought myself a scarf as a souvenir (a bit weird for the middle of summer) and the second half saw both teams make excessive changes as heat and pre-season fitness come into play.  The match became a little more back and forth and it wasn't until the last minute that Suso, right in front of us, secured the win from about 25 years out.  AC Milan don't have all the great names they used to and looked lost at times.  Having said that, Liverpool looked quite cohesive and attacking.  This result puts them up against Manchester United in the final on Monday.  I hope this is the start of a winning season.

Great to get some football in Charlotte.  Let's hope they bring it back here next year.  I'm pretty sure the 70,000 that showed up would be back.

Vince, Me, Erica & Drew

Liverpool 2 (Joe Allen 17, Suso 89) vs AC Milan 0

Attendance: 69,364

Liverpool: Simon Mignolet, Kolo Touré, Sebastián Coates, Martin Kelly, Jack Robinson, Jordan Henderson, Lucas, Joe Allen, Rickie Lambert, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Ibe

Subs: Brad Jones, Glen Johnson, José Enrique, Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel, Steven Gerrard, Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Conor Coady, Suso, Kristoffer Peterson 

AC Milan: Christian Abbiati, Mattia De Sciglio, Adil Rami, Ignazio Abate, Daniele Bonera, Sulley Muntari, Riccardo Saponara, Michael Essien, Giampaolo Pazzini, M'baye Niang, Stephan El Shaarawy

Subs: Gabriel, Michael Agazzi, Philippe Mexes, Michelangelo Albertazzi, Cristián Zapata, Kevin Constant, Alex, Marco Pinato, Cristian Zaccardo, Keisuke Honda, Andrea Poli, Bryan Cristante, Mario Balotelli, Hachim Mastour