Milan, February 17 (BNA): Liverpool dominated its Champions League clash with Inter Milan, as two late goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah scored a 2-0 victory over San Siro in the first leg of the round of 16. Wednesday.
Inter had better chances in the first half, but coach Jurgen Klopp’s side were resilient if not at their best as they managed to hold off the hosts before delivering two devastating blows to their opponent, Reuters reported.
Having struggled to create several chances, Klopp scored changes in the second half, and one of those substitutes came to excel – sending Firmino into the net from a corner kick to break the deadlock in the 75th minute.
With their resistance broken, errors began to creep into Inter and Salah pounced when they failed to clear a long ball into the penalty area as the match ended with seven minutes remaining.
Even with the away goals rule not applied, the win puts the 2019 Champions League winner in a prime position ahead of the return leg on March 8 at Anfield.
“We expected to be under pressure because this is the Champions League,” Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk told BT Sport. “One of the messages before the game was that we need to prepare to suffer.
“It was a very good performance with clean nets.”
Liverpool have won all seven of their Champions League matches this season, continuing the longest winning streak ever in the European club competition.
Inter, who returned to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in a decade, started brightly in front of a boisterous crowd, undisturbed by their numbers dropping as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
Argentinian striker Lautaro Martinez hit the ball from distance early on, before Hakan Calhanoglu got close to the crossbar when given a long time in the penalty area.
Liverpool made great efforts to score in the first half, but struggled to create that killer opener, with Sadio Mane heading a free kick that passed close to it.
There wasn’t much improvement after the break from Liverpool, with Inter’s last pass deserting them when it mattered most.
The home side’s extravagance proved costly as Firmino fired home to silence a frustrated San Siro, and kicked a home corner kick from Andy Robertson. This was his eleventh goal as a Liverpool substitute in all competitions and no player has scored more than the bench for the Reds under Klopp.
Salah, aided by a slight swerve, scored in the second half after Virgil van Dijk knocked out Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long ball to seal the victory.
The Egyptian player has scored in each of his last eight Champions League away matches, the second longest such distance ever by a single player, after Cristiano Ronaldo between 2013 and 2015.
Liverpool weren’t old, but they got the job done. This is the sixth time they have won the first leg of a Champions League knockout match away from home and they have advanced from each of the previous five.
“This performance should give us a lot of confidence because we played a great game,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. “We didn’t deserve to lose but that’s football.
“I think we can be proud that we played a great match against one of the best teams in Europe.”