Liverpool 0 Inter Milan 1
On yet another crazy European night at Anfield, the Reds squeak into the Quarter-Finals of the European Cup
On yet another crazy European night at Anfield, the Reds squeak into the Quarter-Finals of the European Cup
Liverpool’s 12 game winning streak and 15 game unbeaten run in all competitions is at an end but it mattered not tonight on a windy and crazy Anfield European night under the floodlights against Internazionale (or Inter Milan if you prefer). The 2–0 first leg victory in the San Siro Stadium three weeks ago was always going to be a position of great strength from which to start tonight’s second leg, and thus it turned out to be absolutely crucial on a night when a single second half goal from Argentinian international Lautaro Martinez was enough to give the Italians from Milan a 1–0 victory but not nearly enough to overturn the first leg deficit. The Reds of Liverpool are through to the Quarter-Finals of the European Cup again, but with a squeak and more than a small sigh of relief.
The first half tonight was in all honesty a drab affair elongated by yet another “medical emergency” in the crowd (you can draw your own conclusions but these are sadly common place where once they were rare to non-existent) and on the balance of play the Italian Champions shaded a goalless first 45 minutes. Against the grain of a dour first half, Joel Matip’s bullet header that crashed into Inter Milan’s crossbar on the half hour mark was the closest either side came to scoring. Prior to this, the Reds of Liverpool and the Blue/Black of Inter Milan traded simply saved chances: Denzel Dumfries forced the first save of the game on 7 minutes but Alisson Becker was untroubled by the effort and the same could be said for Inter Milan’s goalkeeper Samir Handanovic who saved easily from a Virgil van Dijk header a few minutes later. The best chance of the half came from the Turkish International Hakan Calhanoglu who’s stinging free-kick on 40 minutes was beaten away by Becker in the Liverpool goal.
These half chances summed up a slow and somewhat ponderous first half that the Italian team just shaded in terms of pressing and attacking intent with the aforementioned Hakan Calhanoglu particularly impressive. Teammates Ivan Perisic and especially Alexis Sanchez (who seemingly appeared everywhere on the field) were making their Italian team “tick” in the first half and Liverpudlian youngsters Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones were the Reds outstanding players before the Referee’s whistle brought an end to the lengthy first period of play.
If the first half was a drab affair, the second was anything but.
The intensity of the second half started immediately and was picked up on by all four corners of the Anfield crowd. On 48 minutes Alexander-Arnold’s deflected shot was easily saved by Handanovic in the Inter Milan goal before he rushed out 4 minutes later and missed his punch to leave Mo Salah a relatively easy chance for the first goal of the night. Salah slightly mishit his effort which cannoned against a post to safety, but the approach play from Thiago and Diogo Jota that set up the chance in the first place was beautifully intricate and delicate football that deserved a goal. Then the entire game, night and two-legged cup tie turned on it’s head.
On the hour mark Lautaro Martinez should have scored but limply shot wide, via a deflection, for a corner. Liverpool didn’t control the passage of play that immediately followed and from seemingly nowhere Lautaro Martinez was bearing down on goal again. Virgil van Dijk should have closed down the striker but instead hesitated and watched as the footballing cliché of a “screamer” flew past a helpless Alisson Becker and into the very top corner of the Reds goal. With the aggregate score now in the balance at 2–1 it was very much game on but within 2 minutes Alexis Sanchez was correctly yellow carded for the second time and was given the ultimate red card and sent off. His two yellow carded challenges were particularly crude and not in the spirit of either the two-legged cup tie or indeed his performance this evening but his dreadful challenge on Thiago was followed here by his challenge on Fabinho and the Chilean striker saw red, reducing Inter Milan to 10 players for the remaining 27 minutes of the match.
With the one man advantage and seeking to both control the game and indeed the 2–1 aggregate score line, Jurgen Klopp brought on his Skipper Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita and the Reds did what they do so well, and so often: keep the ball. There were numerous passages of play in the final quarter tonight whereby Liverpool simply passed around the 10 man Italian team who rarely if ever threatened to score another goal and a goal that would have forced extra-time. In fact it was the Reds who came closest to scoring with Mo Salah (in another relatively quiet night for the Egyptian King) hitting the post again with 13 minutes remaining before arguably the “Man of the Match”, the Mohican sporting Arturo Vidal miraculously cleared off his own goal line from Luis Diaz with 3 minutes remaining. From a Liverpool perspective Virgil van Dijk was imperious again in defence (his hesitation for the goal aside) and arguably the Red’s star man. Inter Milan’s particular stand out man of the match, alongside the aforementioned Arturo Vidal was the Italian team namesake Milan Skriniar who was just impassable and unmovable in defence for the Italians.
But no matter! The Reds are through to yet another Quarter-Final in the heated competition for the trophy affectionately known as “Big Ears” and despite tonight’s home defeat this Liverpool team under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp have never, ever been in a better shape. If you’re a Red of the Liverpool faith, cherish these times and hold them as close to your heart as you dare.
Thanks for reading. There are numerous articles on Liverpool Football Club within my archives and many and varied articles are planned for the remainder of the season. Here are just a few examples of what you can expect to read on the Mighty Reds within my archives:
Kid Kelleher The Kop Hero!
Liverpool win their 9th League Cup after a nerve shredding Wembley Finalmedium.com
7 European trips following the Mighty Reds of Liverpool
Volume 3: AS Roma, 4th Round, 1st Leg of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup, 15th and 16th February 2001.medium.com
Everton 0 Liverpool 5 — November 6th 1982
“Ian Rush is leading Everton a merry dance” and according to song writing legend, through a Red River Valley too. A…medium.com
A stroll through Scrapbook Lane and around the Fields of Anfield Road — Part 10
Liverpool FC Season 1996–97. A title challenge of sorts. European Semi-Final heartbreak. And “The Greatest Ever Premier…medium.com