The data is enough to show that Inter face an almost impossible mission at Anfield Road with Liverpool, who won 2-0 at San Siro in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Only once in the history of the competition has the away comeback succeeded after this passive in their stadium, three years ago at Manchester United at the Parco dei Principi with Paris Saint Germain. It ended 3-1 for the English, a score that, without the goal rule that counts as double away, would lead to extra time, not directly to the quarterfinals. In addition, Liverpool always went through when they won in the first round away from home (34 times out of 34). And Inter this season has not yet scored a great in the Champions League: dry in 270 minutes with Real Madrid and Liverpool.
But obviously the imperative is to believe in it: «We have the maximum motivation, even if we start from a situation of great disadvantage. Finding a goal in the first half would be very important, ”says Simone Inzaghi, still without a suspended Barella. Prudent Jurgen Klopp: «The 2-0 does not reflect the progress of the San Siro match. The Inter players will not come to be tourists ». But it is impossible to ignore that only something historical could overturn a partially written verdict.
For this reason, thoughts also turn to the respective championships. Liverpool are not far from Manchester City in the standings. Klopp is clamoring to reintroduce the five substitutions in the Premier League: «They are used to preserve those who have many commitments. All the other big tournaments have kept them ». Inzaghi should field one between Correa and Sanchez alongside Lautaro. A positive performance at Anfield of the second lines of the attack would be very useful to have more alternatives in the championship sprint. The Nerazzurri coach responds in a dry way to Stefano Pioli who has argued about the failure of Bologna-Inter to recover: «We would have liked to play it on 6 January. We too, like Pioli, are awaiting the outcome of the appeal ».