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Liverpool continued their good pre-season form with a 2-0 win over AC Milan in the International Champions Cup on Saturday in Charlotte.
Joe Allen opened the scoring after 17 minutes as he tucked home a rebound and Suso sealed the win late on despite a penalty miss from summer recruit Rickie Lambert.
Brendan Rodgers, who has been linked with a move for Milan's Mario Balotelli, fielded a below strength starting XI but the Reds deservedly took the lead when Allen pounced on a moment of hesitation from Michael Essien.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">PHOTO: Joe Allen celebrates his strike for <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LFC?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-203026-https://twitter.com/hashtag/LFC?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#LFC</a> against <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/acmilan" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-203026-https://twitter.com/acmilan" data-vars-event-id="c23">@acmilan</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lfctour?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-203026-https://twitter.com/hashtag/lfctour?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#lfctour</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&id=222025&p=http://t.co/fgLbMiqEjy" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-203026-http://t.co/fgLbMiqEjy" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/fgLbMiqEjy</a>— Liverpool FC (@LFC) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/LFC/statuses/495707251546415104" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-203026-https://twitter.com/LFC/statuses/495707251546415104" data-vars-event-id="c23">August 2, 2014</a>
The 24-year-old sntatched possession from Essien before rolling his initial effort onto the post; Raheem Sterling followed in but saw his effort kept out by Christian Abbiati, before Allen lashed in the opener at the second time of asking.
Liverpool could have extended their lead moments later when Sterling was felled in the Milan bos, but Rickie Lambert spurned a glorious chance to open his account for the Merseysiders.
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And Suso made the game safe with a fine curling effort in the final minute after latching onto a clever pass from Coutinho.
Rodgers' men will now face old rivals Manchester United in the final of the tournament in Miami on Monday night as they prepare for their Barclays Premier League opener against Southampton on August 17.
