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Italy's fashion capital was buzzing as Liverpool came to town. The blue half of Milan was up against the Red juggernaut in the UCL Round of 16.
Liverpool were far from their best but scored with the 2 clear cut chances they created in the final third. Internazionale failed to take their chances as the match ended 0-2 in the Reds' favour. Liverpool can now carry a marauding lead to their fortress, otherwise known as Anfield, for the 2nd leg in 2 weeks time.
For all of Inter's direct approach to the game, they created little inside the danger area. The closest they came to scoring was when ΓalhanoΔlu smacked the crossbar from close range following some good work by Ivan PeriΕ‘iΔ.
The other end also saw very little action with Liverpool's famed attack creating little of note.
JΓΌrgen Klopp was forced to replace the livewire Diogo Jota with Firmino after the Portuguese suffered an injury. He made 3 more changes later into the half as Inter looked to dominate proceedings after the restart.
That proved to be a masterstroke as new entrants Luis DΓaz, Naby KeΓ―ta and captain Jordan Henderson injected some much needed energy into the midfield which appeared overrun. As the Inter players tired out, Liverpool started to dominate with their energy.
Firmino outlined his big game credentials with a sublime near post header from a Robertson corner to put Liverpool ahead after 75 minutes.
Falling behind so late, Inter had little left in the tank to push for an equalizer. The Nerazzuri were undone yet again as Mo Salah buried a deflected effort past a static Samir HandanoviΔ on 83 minutes. The game and essentially the tie now seemed over.
The Inter squad has an average age of 30, while Liverpool's figure stands at 25.5. The difference was clear in the later stages of the game which Liverpool ran away with. But Inter's squad is brimming with quality that can still give Liverpool a run for their money at Anfield. Liverpool remain heavy favorites but no possibility can be ruled out just yet. March 8th promises to power-packed.