Liverpool into quarters despite loss to 10-man Inter

Liverpool, March 9 (BNA): Liverpool trailed in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win over Inter Milan after losing 1-0 to the Italian team, which was reduced to 10 players, at Anfield.

After a difficult first half, a superb drive arrived at the top corner of Lautaro Martinez in the 62nd minute to put Inter ahead tonight, Reuters reported.

But once it looked like they could produce a surprise, the visitors found themselves frustrated after Alexis Sanchez was sent off for a second yellow card after colliding with Liverpool midfielder Fabinho.

It was a tough decision against Sanchez, who won the ball but caught the Brazilian following his lead, protesting on the bench at Inter vehemently.

The sack killed Inter’s momentum with Liverpool never looking in danger of conceding again.

“Lautaro’s goal hit Liverpool, but Sanchez’s dismissal affected the last half hour of play,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said.

“Winning at Anfield is a beautiful thing, but it does no good in qualifying,” he added.

After losing 2-0 at the San Siro, Inter Inzaghi came to Anfield knowing they needed to find the perfect balance between defensive security and clinical tightness and started in a confident fashion.

Inter’s form was compact and their movement clever while Liverpool struggled to reach their normal rhythm, perhaps wary of being over-committed.

However, the hosts were the closest to taking the lead in the first half when Joel Matip hit the crossbar and then Virgil van Dijk’s header from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner kick.

Hakan Calhanoglu forced Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker to intervene in the 42nd minute, and in the first half, Trent Alexander-Arnold, finding space on the right, hit a shot wide of the goal.

Liverpool hit the net again after the first half, as Mohamed Salah hit the post after Inter Milan goalkeeper Samir Handanovic rushed to frustrate Diogo Jota.

But the game really came to life when Martinez missed a good chance, grabbed the ball to Liverpool’s right and took a step inside before unleashing an unstoppable push.

It was a short-lived moment of promise for Inter, with Sanchez departing soon after, and it was Klopp’s men who seemed most likely to increase the scoring.

Salah hit the post for the second time in the match, then substitute Luis Diaz saw a shot in stoppage time, which Arturo Vidal removed from the goal line.

Although the defeat ended Liverpool’s seven-match winning streak in the Champions League, they met their goal of reaching the quarter-finals for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

“The art of football is losing the right matches,” Klopp said. “I still hate it, but if there’s any match we can afford to lose, it could be tonight.”

“In the two games I think we deserved it. It’s only fair that we managed to face a difficult opponent.”