Half an enterprise. Inter conquered Anfield with a great technical and temperamental performance, but the 0-1 final was not enough to eliminate Liverpool and go to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The pass was taken off by Klopp's Reds thanks to the extra goal scored at the San Siro, while Inzaghi just has to applaud his team for having played it head-on, indeed very high, in one of the sacred times of football. The English thus access the next round together with Bayern Munich (boisterous 7-1 over Salzburg), almost certainly Manchester City (tonight's match with Sporting Lisbon is a mere formality given the 5-0 victory in the first leg) and one of Real Madrid and Psg, ready to face off in tonight's super challenge (21pm, Amazon Prime).
A really interesting match will be staged at the Bernabeu, with Ancelotti's men forced to replace the 0-1 of the first leg signed by that Mbappé, ironically, in negotiations for at least a year with the Casa Blanca. Inter, on the other hand, closes its 21/22 European campaign here, but it does so with a performance that can only strengthen it from a psychological point of view, obviously in terms of the championship.
Liverpool-Inter 0-1, the analysis of the match
The Nerazzurri were facing a real Everest, but they climbed it to the point of seriously scaring Klopp's Liverpool. Yes, because if it is true that the Reds hit the crossbar (Matip in the first half), two posts (both with Salah in the second) and missed another couple of rather sensational chances (Van Dijk and Luis Diaz), it is also true that Inter, on the whole, managed the match perfectly, limiting Liverpool to a few flare-ups and not to the domination feared on the eve.
Inzaghi's idea was simple but effective, as well as going against the trend (called pre-tactical) with what was declared on the eve, i.e. staying buttoned up in the first half in order to keep the match open, and then trying to strike in the second. Winning move ruined only by Sanchez, author of a very good match from a technical point of view, but bad from a mental point of view: the foul on Thiago Alcantara in the first half already deserved a direct red card, which is why entering Fabinho like this was equivalent to a real invitation to be thrown out.
It's a shame, because a minute before the Chilean's ingenuity (referee Lahoz was waiting for nothing else) Inter had taken the lead through Lautaro, who was able to find the crossroads after having missed a much simpler goal just before face to face with Alisson. Toro's broadside, combined with an unlucky evening from Liverpool (see posts and crossbar above), called everything into question, because at that point the Nerazzurri only needed one more goal to equalize the first-leg defeat.
However, remaining in 10 crippled the comeback attempt, moreover right at the climax, and in the final Inzaghi's team was no longer able to make itself dangerous, even if the victory on an almost impregnable pitch (Liverpool hadn't lost at Anfield since 7 March 2021) still went through, leaving a mix of regret and satisfaction that is difficult to decipher. The negative notes of the evening, in addition to obviously Sanchez's elimination and red card, concern De Vrij and Brozovic, both of whom went out due to injuries: from the very first diagnoses it doesn't seem like anything serious, but the presence in the away game in Turin is still at risk.
Inzaghi's words
“We had a great match in a very difficult stadium and against a very strong team, the lads were very good – commented Inzaghi – I especially regret the first leg, a false result. Liverpool seemed to feel the pinch after our goal, then the sending off conditioned the final. I was making some substitutions, because I saw that the team was in the game, had held up well and suffered justly. The regret remains, we take away a victory which clearly pleases, but which is useless for the purposes of qualifying. One more step for our growth? I think so, this team hadn't played an eighth for 11 years. The draw gave us the strongest team in Europe and we played it equal, in the two games we were not inferior to Livepool. But now we need to think about the championship, we are already projected there, on Sunday we will play against a fit opponent and tonight we had to change de Vrij and Brozovic due to muscle soreness, we hope to recover quickly”.
