Champions League: Inter Milan plagued by familiar issue in first-leg loss vs. Liverpool

For those expecting a dominant Liverpool at San Siro in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, they were probably disappointed. Inter Milan showed that they are rightly in this moment of the competition even if the experience and the strength of Klopp’s side made the difference in the second half of the Reds’ 2-0 first-leg victory on Wednesday night.

The first half was very balanced, with Hakan Calhanoglu hitting the post and nearly giving Inter the early advantage. Liverpool were dangerous when Inter Milan left space for counter attacks. Inter showed to be able to contain the dangerous strikers of Klopp’s side while the game was played on the wings, with Ivan Perisic mostly involved in a personal march against Alexander-Arnold in a goalless first half.

Inter Milan were also the better team for portions of the second half but failed to covert any of their multiple chances. Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez, especially, were not clinical enough in front of the net. 

Liverpool scored after 70 minutes with Roberto Firmino’s header from a corner kick, and from that moment on Simone Inzaghi’s team lost a bit of confidence. They conceded another goal to Mohamed Salah moments later.

In the first-leg loss, Inter Milan again displayed a worrying trend. Inzaghi’s team — like it had in the Milan derby earlier in the month — appeared to be best side for most of the match. However, after conceding a goal, something changed in this team’s mindset. They seem to be worried, insecure and completely changed their attitude.

Inzaghi expressed his regret in the post-match interview: “We hope that we don’t have to face Liverpool in every match. I’m proud of the team, we had a great match, but we didn’t get the rewards we wanted from our best moments,” he said. “Then the first time we switched off we were punished by an incredible goal.

“I congratulated the team on their performance, we would have deserved more but what we showed tonight should bode well for what comes in the future. Inter have stood up to one of the two strongest teams in Europe, evenings like this must give us self-belief because we played a great match. I think this match must be a starting point. We’ve played many excellent matches during the season, but we’ve never come up against a team of the quality of Liverpool before.”

Inter Milan will now go to Anfield next month (streaming on Paramount+), needing two goals to have any chance of advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals. Inzaghi and Inter will need to eliminate the pattern of letting up after conceding a goal. Wednesday has to be a lesson for the future.