Milan remains empty handed. Inter and Milan return home with no points from the double challenge with Real Madrid and Liverpool, but also with a good dose of regret, as well as the feeling of being able to fight head-on for the next round. This is especially true for the Nerazzurri, undeservedly defeated by a Madrid team in difficulty for a long time and held up only by a great Courtois, even the Rossoneri, however, despite suffering for large stretches at Anfield, have created more of a headache for the Reds , even going so far as to cradle the dream of victory. In short, Inzaghi and Pioli can look at both sides of the glass, although the results, in the end, are the most significant data.
That ofInter it certainly hurts more, because it came at the end of a match played better than the opponents, with a whole series of wasted opportunities that cry out for revenge. In the first half alone there were four, with Dzeko and Lautaro first blocked by Courtois, then wasteful (in particular the Argentine), finally with a shot by Brozovic just wide. Real? All in an unpretentious shot by Casemiro and in a header, the yes dangerous one, by Militao.
The trend continued in the second half and when Dzeko bullied away in the middle of the area, many shouted for a goal, without however dealing with the usually unbeatable Courtois, very good at repelling and thwarting the 1-0 Inter. There, Ancelotti's men, thanks to a physical drop in Inter, took courage, scaring Handanovic with Benzema and Vinicius, without however being able to beat him. When the 0-0 seemed written, here it is though the hoax signed by Rodrygo, ruthless in realizing a nice assist from Camavinga, purchased on the last day of the market after PSG's no on Mbappé (89').
Burning defeat, even if slightly mitigated by the sensational success of the Sheriff on Shakhtar, which keeps the most dangerous rival in the round of 0 at XNUMX points. “We should have paid more attention, it was just a minute away… – he sighed Inzaghi – I'm sorry, because I find myself commenting on a defeat after such a performance. But we have to look ahead, think about how we played the field against a team like Real Madrid, we found a goalkeeper who found it really difficult to score. Clearly you can never lower your concentration against these teams, but by playing like this I'm confident for qualification."
Defeat certainly more just instead for the Milan, for long stretches dominated by a superior Liverpool both technically and mentally. The trip to Anfield, moreover, is somewhat prohibitive for everyone, even more so for a group in their first experience on stages of this level. It must also be said, however, that the Rossoneri, despite the shocking start (Tomori's own goal in the 9th minute and Salah's missed penalty in the 14th minute), had been able to hold their own, freezing Red's fury until the sensational one-two at the end of the first half : Rebic in the 42nd minute and Diaz in the 44th minute even managed to turn the game around, bringing their teammates into the locker room with an incredible 1-2.
Too much grace and in fact in the second half, thanks to Salah's immediate 2-2 (49'), Klopp's team found the crux of the matter, ending up winning the match thanks to Henderson's stone from distance (69'), without Milan were more able to counterattack. “We have to give credit to the Reds who did better than us in terms of intensity and quality, especially at the beginning – he admitted Pioli – We came out well by coming back, but our regrets are the goals conceded in the second half where we missed something too much. The level has risen, but this race will make us grow in quality and intensity".
The only happy note for Inter and Milan are the results of the other challenges: Shakhtar's defeat against Sheriff (2-0) and the draw between Atletico Madrid and Porto (0-0) slightly change the balance of the groups, leaving everything open for the next matches. Where, however, you can't go wrong, showing everyone that you have learned yesterday's lesson.
