Liverpool lost to Inter Milan 1-0 in their Champions League round of 16 second leg on Tuesday at Anfield, but that was still enough to see the Reds advance to the quarterfinals, 2-1 on aggregate. A 2-0 win at Inter in the first leg was enough of a cushion to protect them after this defeat at home, and the Reds will feel confident with the result but unlucky that it was a loss. Jurgen Klopp's team, which had not previously lost at home this season in any competition, hit the crossbar once and the post twice, dominating in the late stages with a one-man advantage.
Lautaro Martinez scored just after the hour mark for Inter, giving his team a boost after a rather quiet hour, but a red card moments later to Alexis Sanchez did the visitors in, allowing Liverpool to dominate the rest of the way and control the tempo of the match.
Liverpool finished with 12 shots and an xG of 1.65 yet somehow didn't find the back of the net, while Inter had six shots and an xG of 0.30.
As a result, the Reds clinch a spot in the Champions League last eight alongside Bayern Munich, who crushed RB Salzburg 7-1 in Tuesday's other match. You can watch Liverpool, Bayern Munich and the rest of the teams in Champions League action all season long on Paramount+.
| Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
(GK) Alisson Becker | 90 | After an extremely quiet first 40 minutes he saved smartly from Hakan Calhanoglu but could do nothing about Lautaro Martinez's stunning goal. | 6 |
(DEF) Trent Alexander-Arnold | 90 | His dead-ball delivery was customarily excellent, putting one right on Joel Matip's head half an hour in before picking out Virgil van Dijk with his next touch of the ball. There is something wonderful about the way the ball cracks off his feet when he delivers these magnificent passes. | 8 |
(DEF) Joel Matip | 90 | So often it was Matip on hand to block any ambitious Inter shots whilst his more assertive defending helped quell Alexis Sanchez after the Chilean's bright start. He was, however, somewhat at fault for a loose clearance and slow reaction as Inter scored the game's lone goal. | 6 |
(DEF) Virgil van Dijk | 90 | He deserves a 10/10 for aura, his mere presence forcing Lautaro to backtrack into midfield much as he had done in the first leg. Nothing was getting past Van Dijk tonight though maybe that fear of going near him prompted the Inter striker to unleash his wonder strike. | 8 |
(DEF) Andrew Robertson | 90 | A crucial early header at the back post denied Lautaro Martinez what looked to be a tempting volley, setting the tone for a game of crucial late interventions. He might have made life easier if he picked out any of four possible targets with his late cross. | 6 |
(MID) Fabinho | 90 | Fabinho was extremely effective at just gumming up Inter's attacks, slowing down any progress through the middle with his positioning. | 7 |
(MID) Curtis Jones | 64 | A shrewd display from the youngster, who would drop into more defensive positions that allowed Alexander-Arnold to bomb on. In possession his surprisingly swift running up the pitch forced Inter to commit fouls in dangerous spots. | 7 |
(MID) Thiago | 64 | For much of this game Thiago's performance was pockmarked with interceptions, probing passing and welcome solidity. Then came the dreamy pass to set up Jota for one of the best chances of the game. Customary excellence from the Spaniard. | 8 |
(FWD) Mohamed Salah | 90 | A remarkable game for Liverpool's star forward in that the two cast-iron, surely-he-scores chances that came his way ended with the ball clattering back off both posts. There were still flashes when Salah bullied Alessandro Bastoni with nifty footwork. | 6 |
(FWD) Diogo Jota | 82 | He seemed a little rusty after his spell on the sidelines and handed Inter a rare chance when he committed a clumsy foul late in the first half. He was, however, particularly impressive in his pressing work. | 6 |
(FWD) Sadio Mane | 90 | Mane was somewhat loose in possession tonight, attempting more penetrative passes but often the most crucial passes he attempted saw possession ceded back to Inter. This was not the best of the Senegal forward though a brilliant late pass for Salah was a reminder of how good the best of him can be. | 6 |
| Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
(SUB 1) Naby Keita | Jones, 65' | Offered a strong blend of ball carrying and defensive work after his introduction, helping to restore Liverpool's control of midfield. | 6 |
(SUB 2) Jordan Henderson | Thiago, 65' | From the moment the club captain entered the fray you could see him adjusting the positioning of his troops, keeping things solid and refusing to advance too far from what was a shielding role alongside Fabinho. | 7 |
(SUB 3) Luis Diaz | Jota, 83' | A welcome spark plug off the bench, he ensured Liverpool's attacking threat did not die down as they looked to hold on to their aggregate lead. He might have earned them a draw on the night but for brilliant defending by Arturo Vidal. | 6 |
| Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
| Jurgen Klopp | 3 | A supremely composed performance by his players reflects well on the manager, as does the immediate impact his midfield changes had on the game. | 8 |
| Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
(GK) Samir Handanovic | 90 | Didn't concede, but he was lucky not to. Did his job good enough but was saved by the frame of goal three times. | 6 |
(DEF) Alessandro Bastoni | 90 | Struggled with Liverpool's speed and was overpowered often. Just felt like a tier below what was needed to be truly competitive. | 4 |
(DEF) Stefan de Vrij | 45 | Lasted just a half, picking up a calf strain that saw him taken off at the break. Up until that point, he did nearly everything he needed to. | 7 |
(DEF) Milan Skriniar | 90 | The hustle was there to deal with crosses, though the execution always wasn't. Was consistent and mostly did well to keep the attackers in front of him. | 6 |
(MID) Ivan Perisic | 90 | Lively down the left with consistent, dangerous crosses into the box in the early going, but then he faded as the game went on. | 4 |
(MID) Hakan Calhanoglu | 83 | Decent at best. He had one free kick swung in that was dangerous, and that was all he did in attack. Didn't deserve to last 83 minutes. | 4 |
(MID) Marcelo Brozovic | 75 | An awful night. Just was a step slow, looked off in his passing and never felt like an impactful play was coming. | 3 |
(MID) Arturo Vidal | 90 | Nothing great in attack but was stellar when defending. Made numerous clutch tackles including the late one on what was a sure goal from Luis Diaz. Brought the energy. | 8 |
(MID) Denzel Dumfries | 63 | Hardly remembering him playing if I'm being honest. Touched the ball just 29 times and didn't create a single chance. | 4 |
(FWD) Alexis Sanchez | 63 | The good thing was he got an assist. The bad thing was he ruined his team's chances later by getting a red card. Deserved a red in the first half but didn't get it, yet it came in the second. It felt harsh, but he had no business being on the pitch then. | 4 |
(FWD) Lautaro Martinez | 75 | ⚽ Did what he needed to do in getting his goal, but he really had a great chance to score two and be the hero. Still, you can't ask for much more as it was those around him who didn't step up. | 7 |
| Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Danilo D'Ambrosio | de Vrij (46') | Solid display in defense in the second half, cutting off passes and clearing out chances. | 6 |
| Roberto Gagliardini | Brozovic (75') | Offered some crisp passing off the bench but nothing that would be considered dangerous. | 5 |
| Matteo Darmian | Dumfries (75') | Fifteen minutes of time where he got forward a bit but nothing came of t. | 5 |
| Joaquin Correa | Martinez (75') | Touched the ball four times in 15 minutes. It was all Liverpool then. | N/A |
Matias Vecino | Calhanoglu (83') | Late sub that touched the ball four times. | N/A |
| Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | |
| Simone Inzaghi | 5 | Slightly confused with his approach during the last half an hour. I understand they were down to 10 men, but defending with five or six in the box? Who cares if Liverpool score when you are the one who needs the goal. Risk it, push guys high up the field, hope Liverpool fail to score and go on the counter. Not once did a decent chance come late on. | 5 |
Luis Diaz has the ball in front of the goal with what appears to be a tap-in, but a sliding Arturo Vidal sends it over the goal with a miracle dive at the ball. Wow.
Last chance for Inter to find an equalizer. They continue to defend with numbers which makes zero sense.
Salah rocks the post again after a fine pass from Mane! That really felt like the goal to kill this one off, but Inter still have a lifeline.
They need another goal but are a man light. It looks like Inzaghi is going to try to go for more dynamism from a triple, perhaps even quadruple sub, with Gagliardini warming up along with the likes of Gosens and Di Marco. It's a funny one to try to assess what the right approach is. Liverpool could throttle Inter with a high press now they have an extra player -- maybe you'd be tempted to bring on Dzeko for long balls but is there really going to be any great joy for him against Van Dijk and Matip?
After climbing back in, Inter are now in major trouble as Alexis Sanchez is shown a red! It's his second poor challenge of the game. It's a bit unlucky as he got the ball first, and there was no intent, but he got Fabinho good and is shown a red. To be fair, he should have been sent off in the first half.
Golazo from Lautaro! A gorgeous strike into the upper 90! Inter back in it now! What a finish we have in store.
The best chance for Inter so far! The Argentine is in a fantastic spot to put Inter ahead but it goes wide!
It's fairly dominant from Liverpool now. They are flooding the attacking third and knocking on the door now, just missing some better touches to set up the end product. Inter are going to need to take more risks and push higher to really get into this one.
Brilliant from Thiago, lobbing the ball over the top for Jota. His shot is saved but you know what's happening when it breaks to Salah with Handanovic out of the game. Goal, surely? He hits the post! Admittedly there was an Inter player back on the line but you'd still have put your house on Salah finishing that.
45 minutes for Inter Milan to turn this around. One goal from Liverpool will kill this off. Goals surely to come in the second half.
It's Liverpool 0, Inter 0. Not much to talk about in attack, in truth. It's a 0.28 xG for the Reds with Matip hitting the crossbar on a header. Inter had an early chance but finished the half with just two shots and an xG of 0.05. This partial result is perfectly fine for Liverpool as they look set to advance to the quarterfinals. Time for Inter to go with everything in the second half.
A thoroughly underwhelming match and that's just what Klopp would want. His side look comfortable, shading the possession battle 56% to 44% and having 81 touches in the Inter third compared to the Italians' 42 in theirs. Neither team has really tested the opposition goalkeeper but then Liverpool hold a two goal lead and don't really need to push too far forward. With Alexander-Arnold in this type of form they could probably just play for set pieces and be confident they'd get a goal.
Oh my. Alexis Sanchez just caught Thiago with a stud above the shin, and that could have been much worse than it already is. No card ... no foul. Baffling.
Calhanoglu with a free kick from the side of the box, and he sends in a pacey, curling ball across the face of goal that Alisson does well to push wide. Could have been a pinball situation there and a potential own goal, but Liverpool avoid conceding and remain in full control.
Every time he hits the ball it just fizzes so perfectly off that right boot of his. His crosses made chances for Matip and Van Dijk but the best ball of the lot might have been the one that flew to the back post. A fizzing through ball in behind for Salah is not too shabby either. Right now Alexander-Arnold looks completely on top of this game.
A great free kick in, and Matip gets a head on it, but it rocks off the crossbar! Nearly the opener for the Reds, and that would have ended any chance Inter had of coming back.
The stadium medics are in the Kop, working to treat a supporter. Our best wishes are with them. Meanwhile on the pitch both sides are taking on fluids after an energetic first quarter of the game.
Liverpool finally get a look on goal, but it isn't a great one as Van Dijk heads on frame from a corner, but it lacked both power and precision. Inter have more possession (54.1 %), and they've been the more vibrant side in the early going.
Alexis Sanchez has not had the happiest of times on previous visits to Anfield. He never won in his time in the Premier League and last time he was here he was desperate to get out of Arsenal, 4-0 losers in August 2017. Now he is a dervish of energy early on, always asking for the ball, chasing to win possession back every time his passes go astray and pressing with energy. That's a sharp contrast with Dzeko, who was a little more static in the first leg.
It's from Dumfries at the top of the box, but it isn't powerful at all as Alisson catches it with ease. But it's been an encouraging start from the vistors.
No shot in the opening five minutes for either team as Inter is getting the ball deep in the attacking half.
We're up and running on Merseyside, both sides gathering as they eschew the traditional pre-match pictures for one where they're all stood together below a banner calling for peace.
Our James Benge offered up some bold predictions for the second legs, and it includes Sadio Mane stepping up to put Inter away. Here's what Benge had to say about the Senegalese superstar:
Perhaps it is nothing more than reflective of football's tendency to fetishize the new that it has so often been Luis Diaz, the thrilling new arrival from Porto, who has won the headlines for Liverpool in recent weeks. After all, it has been Sadio Mane of late making the big contributions in Premier League games. Without his poacher's instinct, who knows how much more arduous Saturday's 1-0 win over West Ham might have been? But for his acrobatic inventiveness, would Liverpool have ever overturned their deficit against Norwich? Well yes, probably to the last one. It is Norwich after all.
Still, as others have garnered headlines they absolutely deserve, Mane has been delivering for Liverpool under the radar. He would not care much. As he told CBS Sports in November: "If another milestone number can help me and the team to collect some more silverware, I will do everything I can to achieve it."
One could not dispute that he is doing everything he can. With Diogo Jota injured, Diaz earning minutes in his preferred position on the left and Salah in such world-beating form that no manager would consider changing the formula, it has been Mane who has given up his preferred spot. Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, he has largely occupied the center forward position, bringing goals back to his game that had begun to dry up in December, prompting fears of a return to the bad old days.
After a disastrous second half of last season that saw him dropped from Jurgen Klopp's XI, unable to explain why he was struggling for form, he has delivered this term. He is averaging a comparable goal return per 90 minutes to his best campaigns in a Liverpool shirt -- 2018-19 and 2019-20 -- but is doing so because he is getting into scoring positions like never before. His expected goals (xG) per 90 is 0.56, more than 20 percent higher than any of the preceding four seasons.
The only slight statistical foible Mane has presented in 2021-22 is that he does not hit the target as much as he might expect. Opta's shooting goals added metric -- which assesses the difference between pre and post-shot xG -- says he has failed to hit the target to the tune of 2.2 xG so far in the Premier League this season. That might go some way to explaining why Liverpool fans appear to have been frustrated with him of late, but it is almost exactly the same margin by which he outperformed that metric in the Reds' title winning season. It is perhaps another example of Mane regressing to the mean, which in his case is an outstanding footballer.
There is no radical explanation behind this return to form. His positioning has not particularly changed. He is not winning more duels, completing more take ons or nicking the ball off opponents higher up the pitch. Certainly, he is taking more shots and creating less, but watch the Mane of early 2019 and him three years later and they are still appreciably the same player. That is rather the point. The second half of last season was not the start of an inexorable decline for the 29-year-old, it was a freak blip, the gas leak year for a Liverpool team rent asunder by injuries.
Now, buoyed by his decisive contributions to Senegal's triumph at AFCON, Mane looks like his old self, a player Liverpool can rely on in the clutch. The only question going into Tuesday's round of 16 second leg against Inter Milan is whether there will be any of those big moments with Klopp's defense having proven so hard to break down in the San Siro. Perhaps Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk can't be that good again -- debatable in the latter's case. If so, Liverpool can be sure that Mane will put himself in position to make an impact.
Jurgen Klopp sounds as excited as anyone about this game. Here's what he had to say in his programme notes: "What a fixture, hey?
"Liverpool versus Internazionale in the European Cup. Even saying it out loud makes you excited. When you think of Liverpool v Inter you think of a full and passionate Anfield.
"You think of it being electric and partisan. Our supporters need no team talk for a fixture with this heritage. This special place will be a cauldron of energy tonight, I'm sure. And we will need it."
Alexis Sanchez gets the surprise start in attack and joins his fellow Chilean Arturo Vidal in the XI. So it will be Alexis and Lautaro Martinez in attack, with Edin Dzeko on the bench. We will surely see the towering striker in this one, and probably Joaquin Correa as well. Lots of work to do.
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Jones; Salah, Jota, Mane
Subs: Adrian, Kelleher, Milner, Keita, Gomez, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Tsimikas, Diaz, Origi, Elliott
Inter Milan XI: Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Vidal, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Martinez, Alexis Sanchez
Subs: Cordaz, Radu, Gagliardini, Vecino, Dzeko, Ranocchia, Gosens, Correa, Dimarco, D'Ambrosio, Darmian, Caicedo
