Liverpool vs Inter 0-1: Sanchez Send-Off Shatters Inzaghi Dreams

Never a dull day for Inter. After losing 0-2 to Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 match-up, the Nerazzurri seemed on their way out of the top European competition.

But when Lautaro Martinez shocked Anfield Road on Tuesday night with a phenomenal screamer in the middle of the second half, Simone Inzaghi’s boys and the 2400 brave supporters who followed them to England suddenly started to believe in miracles. 

Inter’s hopes lasted only a couple of minutes though. That’s how much it took for referee Mateu Lahoz to wave a second yellow card at Alexis Sanchez, leaving the Nerazzurri with one man less for the remainder of the clash. Game over.

Inter thus bowed out of the Champions League with the honor of arms as Liverpool were unbeaten at home  in one year. However, they left Anfield with many regrets as they didn’t appear inferior to the Reds across the 180 minutes of the double confrontation. 

Jurgen Klopp was wary of the Nerazzurri and lined up Liverpool in his usual 4-3-3 fashion with Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah supported by Diogo Jota. Simone Inzaghi, on the other hand, left Edin Dzeko on the bench: it was Alexis Sanchez to play alongside Lautaro Martinez upfront. Arturo Vidal replaced Nicolò Barella in midfield as the pocket-sized Inter dynamo was still serving a one-match ban.

Inter had an encouraging start and managed to peg Liverpool back in their own half in the first 20 minutes but lacked precision in the final third and didn’t manage to pose any threat to Alisson. The home side, on the other hand, made themselves dangerous as soon as they showed themselves around Samir Handanovic’s area.

Joel Matip’s header from a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner hit the crossbar, then Virgil Van Dijk’s effort was defused by Milan Skriniar. Inter replied with a shot from Hakan Calhanoglu that finally called Alisson to action. Before the half time break, Sanchez was shown a yellow card for a nasty slide tackle on Thiago Acantara. He would regret that untimely challenge later on in the game.

Inter came back to the pitch without Stefan De Vrij, who picked up a muscle injury and was replaced by Danilo D’Ambrosio. The first part of the second half was a Reds monologue, with Salah hitting the post with a clinical left-foot shot. Liverpool seemed to get in control and started to suffocate the Nerazzurri with their ball possession but Lautaro had a different idea.

The Argentine broke the deadlock on the one-hour mark with a spectacular effort from the edge of the box, teleporting the ball into the top right corner of the net and leaving no chance to Alisson.

The Nerazzurri fans were ecstatic but their joy couldn’t last more than a couple minutes. Sanchez’s foul on Fabinho was not as evident as the one on Thiago Alcantara but it was enough for the referee to show him his marching orders. To add insult to injury for La Beneamata, coach Inzaghi was just about to substitute the Chilean striker with Dzeko. If only he acted a few seconds faster…

Sanchez’s send-off put a damper on Inter’s hopes. All Liverpool had to do was controlling the game for the remaining 30 minutes to book their place into the Quarter Finals. Salah hit the post again with a deadly right-foot strike as Inter spent the last portion of the game defending themselves and preserving a prestigious win at Anfield rather than managing to look for an improbable second goal. 

 

MATCH SCORECARD

March 8, 2022 – UEFA Champions League 2021-22 Round of 16
LIVERPOOL – INTER 0-1

SCORERS: 61′ Lautaro Martinez