Inter have travelled to Anfield and defeated Liverpool 1-0 against all odds. Unfortunately we didn’t qualify but we are proud of the efforts!
Especially after going down to 10 men, Inter hung on to get the result and played some beautiful football. This is the first time Liverpool have been beaten at Anfield in 29 matches.
An absolute screamer of a goal from Lautaro put Inter up 1-0, before Alexis Sanchez was sent off two minutes after. From the send off in the 63rd minute, it was very difficult for Inter as all momentum was completely lost.
Let’s look further into the match itself.
Man of the Match –
There was one standout on the pitch who was a rock in Inter’s defence. Milan Skriniar was unbelievable and really dominated from start to finish.
To begin, he started on his usual right hand side of the back three, but after De Vrij was subbed off at half time he moved into the center. Even when Inter went down to 10 men, Skriniar still played fantastically as he cut out several crosses from reaching their targets.
Considering he was marking Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota for the majority, he was phenomenal. Skriniar was a big part of why Inter did not concede a goal today. That now makes it 4 clean sheets in a row for Inter.
If teams didn’t realise how good Skriniar was, they have definitely taken notice now. I hope Inter can re-sign him for a long time to come!
Above: Highlights from Liverpool v Inter.
Absolute heart!
With Barella out over both legs, Arturo Vidal stood up and played as well as he could. For 180 minutes over two legs against Liverpool, Vidal was everywhere and ran until he couldn’t anymore.
Vidal has copped a lot of criticism over the past few months because of the salary of his contract, but his experience showed today. Yes, he may have flaws going forward with the ball and may be too slow in the midfield but there were so many positives.
On several occasions when Vidal lost the ball, he fought hard to gain possession back for Inter. Always there to stop the last pass of some clean moves just outside the box from Liverpool.
Finally, Vidal also was one of the reasons why Inter even kept Liverpool to no goals. His save off the line just before the end of the match was something to behold. It’s apart of Vidal’s football DNA which few appreciate, as Vidal is always working tirelessly for the black and blue.
These are the type of the players we need in the squad, one’s who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and also give everything for the jersey.
To be proud?
Don’t take this as a “small club mentality”, because it’s actually quite the opposite. We all know the Premier League is currently the richest league in the world, and Liverpool are probably in the top 3 teams globally.
Their transfer budgets are pretty much to write down a random number and not even flinch when it’s just say over 70million.
In terms of Inter, before this season even kicked off we lost Conte, Hakimi, Lukaku and also a player who was just starting to find his feet in Eriksen. So expectations were top 4 and try to get out of the group stages in Champions League.
Against all odds, Inter made it out of the group stages and played wonderfully against one of the best teams in the world. I would say there were long periods in both matches where we actually dominated.
Of course the result wasn’t what we wanted, but Inzaghi has proven that he can be competitive with a weaker squad than Conte had. If we can get our finances right, then Inter will be fighting for a Champions League title in a few years. I guarantee that!
Where to next?
We head to Turin to face Torino in what will be a tough match. In the past couple of seasons, it has been in Inter’s favour winning the last 5 between the two sides. I expect a close one, as this Torino side have been very good in matches this season.
Prediction: Inter 2-1
As always, Forza Inter!
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