Liverpool vs Inter

Liverpool lacked their usual ruthlessness in front of goal but held firm against a determined Inter side to progress to the last eight.

That’s the only way Liverpool can be ruffled. Oddly enough, Martinez’s wariness of Van Dijk flipped from negative to positive in the second half. You could hardly blame Martinez for thinking “actually, I don’t really fancy this.” The Dutchman’s presence alone seemingly rendered Martinez incapable of moving his feet. Luis Diaz looked bewildered. And it was as though Klopp’s few minutes of tactical wisdom had an immediate effect on his players. It took a moment to work out what was happening before several Liverpool medics sprinted to provide assistance to a supporter. Reacting quickly — perhaps the only thing that can explain what happened next — the Egyptian side-footed onto the right post. And there was nothing he could do to prevent Martinez scoring the first of the night and pulling a goal back in the tie with a quite wonderful strike in the 61st minute. Going into the game, Martinez had scored 20 goals in 44 — a hat trick in his last, even — but Van Dijk is so big, so strong, so surprisingly quick off the mark for a guy of his sheer size – Van Dijk simply shouldn’t be able to accelerate that fast. Yet it is times such as these when the necessity of Virgil Van Dijk becomes clear. What a peculiar night at Anfield. One that certainly wasn’t uneventful.

Alexis Sanchez of FC Internazionale competes for the ball with Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool FC. Virgil van Dijk was central as Liverpool held on to keep their ...

As in the first leg, there were moments where Lautaro Martínez looked completely deflated when he found himself through against the Dutchman. Ultimately, his one moment of joy came from a shot he simply lashed at rather than trying to run past the centre back. When he flicked a ball through to Diogo Jota early in the second half, everyone was waiting for the net to ripple. It was not to be, and he was withdrawn shortly after the hour mark for Jordan Henderson, but it was a highly encouraging return from injury. In the 18th minute, he made a lung-busting run to track Perišić after Alexis Sánchez had forced a turnover, culminating in a vital interception. Trent Alexander-Arnold was subjected to a real test in this game, with Ivan Perišić generally remaining high and acting as an out-ball from wing-back. Neither were easy chances, but Anfield would usually expect the net to bulge.