FC Internazionale 0-1 Liverpool FC.
The Match.
EL NINO!!!!!!!!!! Well once we have one man to thank. With just one swing of his gifted right foot he guaranteed an English quartet in the Quarter-Finals, along with A German side, an Italian side, a Portuguese side and a Spanish side. And I have to be honest, I like a nice comfortable tie that doesn’t raise my heart rate when we play them in the quarters.
As for the game itself, I thought the first half belonged to the Italians. Not only did they manage to keep the ball away from Torres all half but they also ensured a larger amount of possession and turned it into goal scoring opportunities. I have to admit, my heart was in my stomach when Cruz was through one-on-one. We looked like a team who had accepted the 2-0 aggregate win and were happy with just a 0-0 at the San Siro. Even worse, a 34 year-old was running the show. It’s not exactly uncommon to be outplayed by Javier Zanetti. But his age made it a bit embarrassing.
Once the second half began Liverpool still couldn’t find a foot hole in the game as Inter continued their relentless attacks. Thank God they never took any of their chances. Once the sending off occurred, the complex of the game changed dramatically. It never made it so that Inter were on the back foot for 40 minutes but it certainly relieved the pressure on the Liverpool Goal. Then, on 68 Minutes, El Nino took one shot on the turn and buried it into Julio Cesar’s bottom right hand corner (For those of you who missed the game- shame on you. The goal was extremely similar to the strike by Drogba last season at Stamford Bridge.) Sadly, the only other talking point goes to Inter, it is also the only blemish on an otherwise great night for Martin Skrtel. When he gave the ball away to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Who was through one-on-one with Pepe Reina, thankfully the ball went wide.
There was one line that the commentator said just after Nando’s goal. He Said “That’s the difference between Ibrahimovic and Torres.” He was right, Torres had one real chance and buried it whereas Ibrahimovic had several better than Torres’ one and missed every single one. Finally, people will blame the sending off for us winning last night but I disagree. Ok it was harsh but aren’t Inter themselves to blame. What about the wasted one-on-one chances, free kicks and runs from midfield?
Just before I go let me say this, my loathing of Italian League players has got worse after last night, there was a period where I thought they’ll be diving because of the wind next. I knew Italians dive but not that much. Sadly, the ref fell for every dive and gave Inter countless Free Kicks.
Oh well, that’s Football
