Despite Inter reaching the Round of 16 of the Champions League for the first time in over a decade, the Nerazzurri were stunned at the Stadio San Siro in a disheartening 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Throughout the fixture, Inzaghi’s side demonstrated a strong display as Inter exploited Liverpool through their quick one-two combinations through the middle and their long-balls out-wide in order to stretch the opposition. La Beneamata found themselves in numerous occasions where they had the opportunity to take the lead in this vital fixture.
Unfortunately, despite their flare and vibrancy on the pitch, clinical finishing within the final third was the key difference within the first leg of the knockout round.
Roberto Firmino’s thunderous header and Mohamed Salah’s precise finish followed by Stefan De Vrij’s poor defensive clearance were enough for the Reds to edge the Nerazzurri and possibly book their tickets into the quarter finals.
Following Inter’s defeat, Inzaghi discussed in the post-match press conference about his side’s performance against the Premier League giants:
We hope not to face Liverpool every game! I am happy and proud of the team, unfortunately during our best period of the game we were not rewarded with the goal we deserved, then Liverpool scored at the first half-distraction we had.
“We certainly deserved more, but this performance has to augur well for what is to come in the future. Liverpool are one of the two best teams in Europe in my view, Inter held out well and deserved more.
“We know these evenings can be like this, but it has to give us a self-esteem boost, because it was an excellent performance. It’s difficult to comment after a result like this, but it has to be a starting point for Inter at this level. I think this is the strongest opponent we’ve faced this season.”
With Inter failing to obtain a victory in two consecutive fixtures within all competitions, Inzaghi hopes his men can regain their momentum from the first half of the season as the Nerazzurri prepare to face a tricky Sassuolo side over the weekend.