Liverpool vs Inter Milan LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction tonight
Champions League last 16 second leg at Anfield - follow latest updates and action
Liverpool battled into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Inter Milan 2-1 on aggregate despite a 1-0 defeat in the second leg at Anfield.
The Reds led 2-0 heading into the second leg after Roberto Firmino’s 75th-minute header and Mo Salah’s goal inside the final 10 minutes at the San Siro but found things trickier than expected back on home soil.
Jurgen Klopp’s men lacked a cutting edge all evening as Joel Matip’s first-half header hit the bar and Salah also struck the post before the break when it seemed easier to score.
The Egyptian hit the woodwork for a second time with 15 minutes remaining but by that point, Inter were back in the contest after Lautaro Martinez hammered home an absolute screamer from the edge of the area on 61 minutes that flew into the top corner beyond the outstretched arms of Alisson.
However, two minutes after Martinez had brought the Italian side right back into the tie, Alexis Sanchez’s moment of madness cost them dearly as he was sent off for a second yellow card after a reckless tackle on Fabinho.
Inter gamely battled on with ten men and although Liverpool couldn’t find the goal that would have put the tie to bed, they held on to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Relive the action as Liverpool reached the Champions League quarter-finals:
Liverpool’s defensive heart building a platform for quadruple ambitions
Jurgen Klopp bemused by criticism of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold
Jurgen Klopp felt Liverpool’s last-ditch defending was ‘like scoring a goal’
Late Liverpool strikes down Inter Milan and give Jurgen Klopp’s team one foot in the quarter-finals
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
Alisson Becker and Mo Salah have started all seven games in the Champions League in 2021-22 so far, while Fabinho and Sadio Mane have both appeared in each match for Liverpool.
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
The Reds could become the first team ever to beat Internazionale home and away in two European competition knockout stages, having also done so in 2007-08.
In their last 13 matches the Reds have trailed for only 16 minutes in total.
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
More from Jurgen Klopp now who wrote about what it was like to play Inter Milan at the San Siro in a game he described as ‘one of the most difficult of the season’ so far. Klopp said:
There is so much to like about how they play. I really enjoy watching them. Not so much having to face them, though.
“The first leg in Milan was such a tough game. I would go so far as to say it was one of the most difficult of the season for us in all competitions. They were aggressive, in the positive sense of that word, and purposeful. We played very well and defended very well, which is why we come into this contest with an advantage in the tie.
“But it is just an advantage at this stage and it means nothing if we don’t have the right attitude coming into this one. It is only half-time. That is all. And if my team were trailing 2-0 at half-time my mindset would be game on, all to play for. Add in the fact they have 90 minutes and not 45, it is obvious we have a proper fight on our hands.”
Liverpool vs Inter Milan: Jurgen Klopp felt Liverpool’s last-ditch defending was ‘like scoring a goal’
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrated his side’s individual defending as being as good as a goal after they ground out a 1-0 win at home to West Ham.
Sadio Mane scored the 27th-minute winner but right-back Alexander-Arnold was the architect of a victory which reduced Manchester City’s gap at the top of the Premier League to three points.
The England defender provided a career-best 16th assist but also produced a brilliant goalline clearance to deny Pablo Fornals.
Jurgen Klopp felt Liverpool’s last-ditch defending was ‘like scoring a goal’
The Reds survived a few scares to see off West Ham and move three points behind leaders Manchester City.
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
Jurgen Klopp is excited about tonight’s game but knows his team has to go out and win instead of trying to defend their two-goal aggregate lead. Writing in the programme notes for this evening’s Champions League tie, Klopp said:
What a fixture, hey? Even saying it out loud makes you excited. Liverpool versus Internazionale in the European Cup. What makes it better is we face each other in a moment where we are both proper forces in the game.
“Two-nil is the lead that has been turned over most often in football. If you are at half-time, two up and think you are already through, then you are already on the wrong path.
“The [first-leg] result was a lot better than I expected. A really tough tie and a difficult game to play.”
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
Liverpool have faced Italian opponents 15 times at Anfield, winning nine and losing five – with the defeats coming at the hands of Genoa (1992), AS Roma (2001), Fiorentina (2009), Udinese (2012) and Atalanta BC (2020).
Atalanta are the only Italian side to come to Anfield and win by a two-goal margin (2-0 in 2020) – albeit in an empty stadium.
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
Only once have the Reds been knocked out after holding a two-goal first-leg lead. The victors were Internazionale in the European Cup semi-final in 1965, with Liverpool losing 3-0 at San Siro after earlier winning 3-1 at Anfield.
In the first leg Klopp became only the eighth manager to win 50 Champions League games, following Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and Rafael Benitez.
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
Liverpool are the only team in this season’s competition with a 100 per cent win record. The two other clubs who won every group game, AFC Ajax and Bayern Munich, both drew their first-leg match in this round.
This will be Liverpool’s 200th European game as the home team, though that includes one in Budapest against Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig last season. In the previous 198 at Anfield they have only lost by two goals seven times.
Liverpool vs Inter Milan: Jurgen Klopp bemused by criticism of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp continues to be bemused at critics who claim Trent Alexander-Arnold cannot defend.
The England right-back was a decisive force in the 1-0 win over West Ham which kept up the pressure in the title race, providing the cross for Sadio Mane’s winner and then effecting a brilliant goal-line clearance at the other end.
“Absolutely, I don’t understand that, that’s true, but I don’t think I will change that with whatever I will say,” said Klopp when asked if he knew why the 23-year-old’s defensive game continued to attract scrutiny.
Jurgen Klopp bemused by criticism of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold
The England right-back was a decisive force in Saturday’s 1-0 win over West Ham, assisting the only goal of the game and clearing a Pablo Fornals effort of the line
Liverpool vs Inter Milan
Sadio Mane will be making his 50th Champions League appearance for Liverpool tonight.
He becomes only the sixth player to reach this milestone for the club (after Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, John Arne Riise, Sami Hyypia and Mo Salah), and also becomes the first Senegalese player to reach a half-century of Champions League appearances.
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