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Inter Milan’s Argentinian striker Lautaro Martinez celebrates after scoring against Liverpool in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool defeated at home, but move on in Champions League
Liverpool’s 7 game unbeaten run came to an end with a 1-0 loss against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League, but the Reds still progressed to the quarter finals with an aggregate score of 2-1.
Liverpool went into the game with a 2-0 advantage and they started off the stronger side in the game, pushing forwards early with a near chance from Joel Matip, who banged a header against the crossbar from close range.
Liverpool came closest to breaking the deadlock right before halftime, as Trent Alexander-Arnold curled a free kick narrowly wide of the post.
Inter Milan struggled with their final passes and rarely threatened in the first half.
The Reds’ dominance stuttered after the break as Inter began to threaten on the counterattack. Their persistence paid off in the 61st minute when Alexis Sanchez fed Lautaro Martinez and the forward drilled a spectacular shot into the top corner from outside the box.
Just minutes later, ex-Arsenal player Sanchez flew in with a hard challenge on Fabinho which earned him his second yellow card. The challenge was considered controversial after a review, as Sanchez’s tackle found the ball first before catching Fabinho’s leg on the follow through, but the decision stood and Inter were down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes.
Liverpool steadied the ship in the aftermath of Martinez’s goal, but were still unable to beat Handanovic between the sticks. In fact the Premier League side struck all three posts (including the crossbar) but registered just 2 shots on target compared to Inter’s 3.
It was a nervous ending for Klopp’s men as a single goal would’ve taken the contest to extra-time, however Liverpool clung on to win the tie 2-1 on aggregate and progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
The line-ups:
Liverpool
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Jones (65’ Keita), Fabinho, Thiago (65’ Henderson), Salah, Jota (83’ Diaz), Mane
Unused Subs
Milner, Gomez, Adrian, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Tsimikas, Origi, Kelleher, Elliot
Inter Milan
Handanovic, Skriniar, De Vrij (45’ D’Ambrosio), Bastoni, Dumfries (77’ Darmian), Vidal, Brozovic (75’ Gagliardini), Calhanoglu (83’ Vecino), Perisic, Martinez (75’ Correa), Sanchez
Unused Subs
Gagliardini, Dzeko, Ranocchia, Gosens, Cordaz, Dimarco, Caicedo, Radu
The Reds are still chasing an unprecedented quadruple, whilst Inter return their focus to Serie A, where they are just two points off league leaders and rivals AC Milan.
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