The first leg between Liverpool and Internazionale was an even affair, but set-pieces allowed Liverpool to take a comfortable lead into the second leg.
Jürgen Klopp made four changes to the side that beat West Ham on Saturday, with Ibrahima Konaté, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keïta and Luis Diaz making way for Joël Matip, Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcântara and Diogo Jota. Liverpool set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation.
Simone Inzaghi made three changes to the team that thrashed Salernitana. Ivan Perisic, Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal came into the side at the expense of Matteo Darmian, Edin Dzeko and the suspended Nicolo Barella. Inter lined up in their usual 3-5-2 shape.
The match followed broadly the same patterns of play as the first leg. Inter generally tried to engage Liverpool high up the pitch, pressing man-to-man. This made it hard for Liverpool to pass out from the back and saw them give the ball away a few times.
With each Inter man picking up a Liverpool midfielder though, they would be pulled away from their backline, leaving space between the lines for Diogo Jota to drop off into. They also did this in the first leg, but then, at least in the first half, the centre-backs would step up to limit the space available for the Liverpool attackers dropping off, however here Inter’s centre-backs played more like they did in the second half of the first leg, holding their positions to protect their box rather than getting pulled forward. This meant Jota could turn and run at the backline, but he had several players to beat.
Liverpool mostly looked to engage Inter higher up the pitch than they did in the first leg, although, unsurprisingly given their recent fixture congestion, they weren’t particularly intense in doing so. With the three centre-backs and Marcelo Brozovic, plus Hakan Calhanoglu dropping back to help out, Inter were frequently able to avoid Liverpool’s pressure and play into attack, mostly looking to find Perisic down the left.
Much like the first leg though, neither side was really threatening.
Inter did manage to pull a goal back with half an hour to go though. They pressed high at a goal kick and won back the ball when Perisic intercepted Matip’s pass down the line. Two quick passes got the ball to Lautaro Martinez, who let the ball run across him before bending the ball away from Alisson Becker into the top corner. Virgil van Dijk stood off him, looking to slow down the play so Liverpool’s players could get back, however he ended up leaving the Argentinian too much space to turn and shoot.
Just as their comeback had begun, Inter shot themselves in the shot though. Sanchez works hard defensively, energetically chasing down opponents, but he has a tendency to go overboard, flinging himself into challenges. He had already caught Thiago late and high in the first half, and was continuing to bump into players after the ball had gone, albeit with little danger, so it wasn’t exactly surprising to see him receive a second yellow card for catching Fabinho on the ankle. He got to the ball first, but followed through precisely because he appears incapable of making a challenge without throwing his body behind it, making it difficult to have much sympathy for him.
A man down Inter now sat back in a 5-3-1 shape, allowing Liverpool to keep possession despite them needing it to get back on level terms. Liverpool were able to simply hold onto the ball to see out the game and claim victory over two legs despite losing on the night.
Neither leg was particularly impressive from Liverpool, but with their busy schedule the most important thing was simply progressing to the quarter-finals.
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