Champions League – Liverpool lose but still advance to the quarter-finals

Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)

Inter Milan’s 1-0 victory at Anfield wasn’t enough to prevent Liverpool from advancing to the Champions League Quarter Finals following their 2-0 victory in the San Siro three weeks ago.

Inter Milan came to town 2-0 down from the first leg but they did not enter the pitch ready to roll over and with five in midfield they made life very difficult for Liverpool. It was not the fast-flowing red machine that Liverpool fans have been getting used to seeing at home this season. Having said that Liverpool nearly put the tie to bed early on from a set piece. A Trent Alexander-Arnold corner from the Anfield Road end whizzed into the box and Joël Matip got his head on it but somehow his header hit the underside of the crossbar and stayed out.

It was a close tense affair with some tackles flying in. Alexis Sanchez received a yellow for a high tackle on Thiago. Liverpool lifted the pace of the game at the start of the second half with Mo Salah hitting the post and again the ball flying off to safety for Inter. The Italians were throwing bodies in the way with some last-ditched defending at times but also looked dangerous on the break themselves.

That danger turned into a great goal when Matip gave the ball away cheaply and Lautaro Martinez came in off the right and hit a right foot screamer into the far top corner of the Liverpool net with nearly 30 minutes to play. However less than 2 minutes later Alexis Sanchez made a tackle on Fabinho and got the ball first but then caught the man too and the referee deemed it a second yellow card. The Inter bench were up in arms about the decision forcing them to go down to ten men and the control of the game went back to the men in red.

Salah hit the post again and somehow Luis Diaz did not score at the death. The ball cleared off the line again and Liverpool could not get the ball into the net to secure a late equalizer on the night.

Inzaghi, the Inter manager, admitted after the match that his team were undone by a bad finish to the game in the first leg in Milan but was ultimately proud of his team for fighting back after the disappointing result at home.

“We have got to this stage for the first time in 11 years and ended up playing perhaps the strongest team in Europe and we were their equals.”

Liverpool’s impressive run of 12 wins in a row in all competitions they have played in this calendar year, including picking up a first domestic cup in ten years’, finally came to an end. However Klopp wasn’t too disappointed.