Champions, Liverpool-Inter: Dzeko, Vidal and 9 rookies at Anfield

The sense of the enterprise is given by the strength of Liverpool but also by the statistics and the curriculum of Inzaghi’s squad in the Europe that matters. Inter will take the field tonight at Anfield to recover the 0-2 of the Meazza with nine (maybe ten) elevenths who have never set foot in the temple of the Reds. If we add to this that in the history of the Champions League only one team has managed to pass the round after an internal slip of two goals (but thanks to a rule that has just gone into the attic …), here is what Brozovic will try to do and comrades really looks like a sporting miracle.

Debutante Ball

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If Inzaghi in attack chose the Lautaro-Correa duo and preferred Gagliardini to Vidal to replace the suspended Barella, for all the anti-Liverpool owners it would be a rookie ball. In fact, in the Nerazzurri squad (excluding Kolarov, who is off the list) there are only five elements who have already played at Anfield. The hen is Dzeko, the only one capable of scoring with two different jerseys (City and Rome). Edin is also the one of the decisive goals to bring Inter back to the knockout stages of the Champions League after a decade of limbo. The goal at the Sheriff and the brace at Shakhtar changed history. Vidal instead Anfield saw him only once. And he will hardly forget it. He was in fact on the pitch from 1 ‘in that Liverpool-Barcelona 4-0 on 7 May 2019 that made history, with the Catalans annihilated after the 3-0 at Camp Nou. A Liverpool very similar to today, but that evening lacked people like Salah and Firmino … At Anfield, when they wore the United shirt, Darmian and Sanchez also played. The only one capable of combining goals and victory is Gosens, with Atalanta, in the 2-0 (Ilicic’s first goal) on 25 November 2020. The other Inter fans, on the other hand, will all make their debut in the Reds’ lair. Confirming how growth in Europe must come step by step.

Only once, but it is no longer valid …

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And then there are the statistics, which are almost as frightening as Salah and Manè. As mentioned, only one team in the history of the Champions League (the previous ones are 41) has passed the round in the knockout phase after losing the first leg at home with two or more goals to the passive: Manchester United, in the round of 16 of 2018. -19 against PSG: the 3-1 in the return, however, benefited from the away goal rule, just retired. In fact, if Inter were to win 3-1 in the 90th minute, they would still have to go to extra time in the red hell. Too bad that in three previous Champions League matches (the other two in 2008) Liverpool have always beaten Inter, without ever conceding a goal. Furthermore, since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Reds have kept a clean sheet in Champions home matches more than any other team (15 in 24 games, 63% of the time). It is not enough? Salah & C. at home they have not lost for exactly one year (Fulham, then relegated) and since then they have a score of 21 wins and 7 draws. In recent months the bar has risen: 12 successes in a row, with just 4 goals to the passive. Last team capable of scoring two goals against Alisson? Chelsea, in the 2-2 at Stamford Bridge, last January 2nd.

Those good memories

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Two precedents, however, bring back good memories for the Nerazzurri. The first is dated: the comeback in the semifinal of the ’65 Champions Cup, with the famous 3-0 after the 3-1 defeat in England by Corso, Peirò and Facchetti. The second smells like Triplete. In fact, Inter have lost four of their last five away games against English teams in the Champions League, but the only victory came in the last knockout occasion, again in the round of 16: Eto’o’s 1-0 at Chelsea, on the 16th. March 2010, started the ride towards history.