Inter (A) - CL Round of 16 1st leg, Wed 16th Feb 2022 (8:00pm)

[Bruce Spanner]

25 minutes ago, 3 Stacks said:

This sounds stupid but to me all Italian teams except Atalanta basically play the same. Inter I think are meant to be quite forward thinking but I doubt they'll play that way against us.

 

It's not all Catenaccio and bribes nowadays you know?

 

It's Catenaccio, bribery and loans with an obligation to buy, that they have no intention of taking up, nowadays.

 

Get with the program.

[mattyq]

Lets cunt them in the bastard 

[Anubis]

Mangiamo i loro fegatini con delle fave e un buon Chianti.

[Barnesey]

Milan overtook inter at the top of the table this weekend (although they have a game in hand). Our ressies beat Milan at a cantor in December and so I’ll be disappointed if we don’t bring home a lead. 

[Guest Alex_K]

2 hours ago, Barnesey said:

Milan overtook inter at the top of the table this weekend (although they have a game in hand). Our ressies beat Milan at a cantor in December and so I’ll be disappointed if we don’t bring home a lead. 

We should dominate. 3-0 / 3-1 if they actually try to attack.

[Scott_M]

On 13/02/2022 at 23:40, aRdja said:

Alisson; Trent, Matip, Virgil, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Jota

Seconded.

[Reckoner]

Here’s that YNWA from 2008. One of the comments describes it as being sung like a defiant hymn that day as the club was being dragged through the mud to the brink of extinction which sums it up nicely.  I remember how good it felt to just keep singing it and everyone else must have felt the same. I was sat under the scoreboard in the corner.

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

5 hours ago, Reckoner said:

Here’s that YNWA from 2008. One of the comments describes it as being sung like a defiant hymn that day as the club was being dragged through the mud to the brink of extinction which sums it up nicely.  I remember how good it felt to just keep singing it and everyone else must have felt the same. I was sat under the scoreboard in the corner.

 

Fucking electric.

[s(k)aturation]

On 15/02/2022 at 04:56, Anubis said:

Mangiamo i loro fegatini con delle fave e un buon Chianti.

 

They'll need Hannibal's elephants to stop us.

 

 

[Sandman40]

5 hours ago, Reckoner said:

Here’s that YNWA from 2008. One of the comments describes it as being sung like a defiant hymn that day as the club was being dragged through the mud to the brink of extinction which sums it up nicely.  I remember how good it felt to just keep singing it and everyone else must have felt the same. I was sat under the scoreboard in the corner.

 

It was amazing.  I remember I was stood next to an Inter supporter and when everyone starting singing "Go Back to Italy"  he replied to me:  "I will.  My flight isn't until tomorrow"

 

To be fair he was a nice lad

[Anubis]

 

[VladimirIlyich]

3 minutes ago, Anubis said:

 

Only because the pundits dont understand VAR.

[Captain Turdseye]

14 hours ago, Reckoner said:

Here’s that YNWA from 2008. One of the comments describes it as being sung like a defiant hymn that day as the club was being dragged through the mud to the brink of extinction which sums it up nicely.  I remember how good it felt to just keep singing it and everyone else must have felt the same. I was sat under the scoreboard in the corner.

 

That is absolute magic. 

[sir roger]

1 hour ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Only because the pundits dont understand VAR.

Or Cappello it would seem.

[Code]

 

[VladimirIlyich]

The small fear regarding offsides is that the non English officials may not leave everything to VAR like the hapless PL officials.

[Scott_M]

35 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

The small fear regarding offsides is that the non English officials may not leave everything to VAR like the hapless PL officials.

Unless I don’t understand, not sure what difference that’d make? It would mean the flag would go up sooner and only impact is attacking?

[Total Longo]

2 hours ago, Anubis said:

 

Thanks for the team talk, Fabs.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

1 hour ago, VladimirIlyich said:

The small fear regarding offsides is that the non English officials may not leave everything to VAR like the hapless PL officials.

If the attacker scores, VAR would check it anyway, wouldn't they?

[Sugar Ape]

Inzaghi’s lighter, liberated approach has taken Inter to another level

 

Sandro Mazzola had never seen a goal like it before. Not even in training. “I’ll never forget it,” he said.

 

How could he? It provided the dramatic and controversial twist to one of the most memorable games of the ’60s and helped consolidate the legend of the Grande Inter. They were the champions of Europe, backed by the oil money of Angelo Moratti and the mysticism of Helenio Herrera, but a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the first leg of the 1965 European Cup semi-final at Anfield left them in need of a minor miracle.

 

A week later, in the district of Milan that carries the name of a bishop from nearby Pavia — San Sir — Inter could not have gotten off to a better start.

 

Mario Corso began the comeback with a trademark free kick struck up and over the wall — “la foglia morta”, a ball that would suddenly fall like a leaf from a tree in autumn. Then came the goal that left Mazzola twiddling his moustache in disbelief. His team-mate Joaquin Peiro was on the floor having been bundled over by Liverpool goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence, who caught the ball and mulled over to whom he might aim a hoof downfield. He bounced the ball once, then twice when suddenly Peiro appeared like some pickpocketing Lazarus and nipped it away with his left foot to score the sneakiest of goals.

 

San Siro erupted as Inter went 2-0 up after only 10 minutes, the Liverpool players surrounding the referee as the euphoric realisation dawned on the Inter supporters in the Curva Nord that they were in for a special night. The game climaxed with marauding left-back and legendary captain Giacinto Facchetti smashing home a third to stamp his side’s ticket for a home final against Benfica. There were accusations directed at the referee Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendibil that he fixed the game but that has never been proved. It remains the only time Inter have beaten Liverpool.

 

Facchetti scores the final goal for Inter 

 

The “gol alla Peiro” was invoked when they last met in 2008 but in vain. Nicolas Burdisso got sent off at San Siro and the former Everton defender Marco Materazzi saw red after half an hour at Anfield. Going out was no disgrace. Liverpool were losing finalists less than a year before but on that occasion, they had lost to Inter’s “cousins” AC Milan and suffering elimination in the first knockout stage undermined their dominance in Serie A at the time.

 

Roberto Mancini resigned in a fit of pique at Anfield only to sleep on it and reconsider — but it was too late. Angelo Moratti’s son, Massimo, met Jose Mourinho in Paris soon afterwards and set the ball in motion for Inter to win the treble two year’s later. As the talks became more and more advanced, Mancini — undermined further —  lost the dressing room and Inter almost lost the scudetto as a title race wrapped up in February quickly unravelled and went down to the final day, with the Nerazzurri needing a half-fit Zlatan Ibrahimovic to come off the bench and to the rescue under a rainstorm in Parma.

 

Encounters between Inter and Liverpool are rare, but the reverberations tend to be seismic for the Italians. Initially paired with Ajax in the round of 16, the re-run of the draw could not have gone worse for them. “We were disappointed,” chief executive Beppe Marotta said. “But we never thought about launching an appeal.” Ajax could have been to Inter what Dortmund (coached by Jurgen Klopp at the time) were to Juventus in 2015 — not one of the favourites at the start of the season but someone good enough to make knocking them out really resonate and spur the team on to an unexpectedly deep run in the competition.

 

Liverpool, of course, represent an entirely different proposition. “We know what awaits us,” Simone Inzaghi said. “They were top of my list of teams to avoid.” His brother Super Pippo conversely wanted to play no one else in the 2007 final in Athens when he scored a brace — deflecting a Pirlo free kick past Pepe Reina then eluding the offside flag for his second — to avenge Milan’s 2005 defeat in Istanbul. The weight of history and tradition in this competition continues to weigh on Inter’s shoulders, but the expectations are realistic.

 

After overseeing Lazio’s first journey into the Champions League knockout stages for 21 years, Simone has repeated the feat with Inter, who finally got out of the group for the first time since 2012. From that perspective, progress has already been made on his predecessors Luciano Spalletti and Antonio Conte.

 

Given how bleak the forecasts were for Inter last summer — when financial constraints led Conte to walk away and Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku to be sold — Inzaghi and his players have already matched expectation in Europe and exceeded it in Italy.

 

The return of Massimiliano Allegri after two years out led many to predict that Juventus would instantly bounce back from failing to make it 10 league titles in a row. But that sentiment was six months premature and it soon became clear that reports of Inter’s demise were exaggerated. Rather than fare worse than last season, they have, surprisingly, been even better.

 

Debate has instead revolved around the last time Inter were this good to watch. “It’s hard to make comparisons,” said Inter’s ageless vice-president Javier Zanetti. “This team has so many options. We play great football and (the 4-0 win over Cagliari) was the latest demonstration of how good this team believes itself to be and it shows more and more each game.”

 

The succession at Inter bears some resemblance to when Stefan Kovacs took over from Rinus Michels at Ajax, Fabio Capello from Arrigo Sacchi at Milan and Allegri from Conte at Juventus. All of them replaced the relentless, meticulous and maniacal, the ideologues who stopped at nothing to achieve era-defining glory. “Martelli” as they’re known in Italy. Hammers incessantly banging away at their players. They left winning machines, the highest standards and an ingrained mentality.

 

A lighter, more liberated attitude has tended not to simply prolong dynasties but take them to another level. It’s enough to recall what happened at Juventus in 2014-15. Under Conte, the Old Lady had developed a complex in the Champions League but reached the final in Allegri’s first season as he deployed a calmer, more relaxed “Ancelottian” touch.

 

The hope rather than expectation at Inter is that Inzaghi may do the same.

 

 

“Inzaghi has given us back our freedom and has reminded us football is a game,” centre-back Alessandro Bastoni told La Repubblica, “except when you lose.”

 

Inter are still playing 3-5-2 just as they did under Conte — but not the same way. Sporting director Piero Ausilio sees it like this: Conte planned and built a skyscraper like one of those you see in Milan’s Porta Garibaldi. “Think of Inzaghi as a top interior designer,” he told Sky Italia. “Think about it in terms of working within an existing structure and dedicating himself to making it look nice, giving the team a bit more freedom of expression, giving it quality in possession, patterns of play and a sense of imagination. Watch Inter and you can see all of that on top of a solid structure.”

 

Had the original draw with Ajax stood, the pre-match build-up would inevitably have focused on some of the total football we have seen from Inter so far this season, with fluid interchanges of position and slick passing catching the eye.  As this StatsBomb radar indicates, Inzaghi has also pushed Inter’s defensive line higher and is asking the team to press more.

 

 

He is making different choices to his predecessor, who was prepared to accept less possession and play in a low block to have the space in behind to release the pace of Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez for a classic Conte-choreographed transition. Inzaghi instead forces opponents back as exemplified by the “field tilt” metric, which measures the share of possession a team has in a game considering only touches or passes in the attacking third. Last year, Inter ranked eighth in Serie A in this regard with 52.8 per cent This year they are third with 60.8 per cent.

 

The change is also down to the personnel available to Inzaghi. At Lazio, he could call upon a prolific striker in Ciro Immobile and a wing-back in Manuel Lazzari who had the beating of their opponents in wide-open spaces. Maybe if Lukaku and Hakimi had stayed, Inzaghi could have retained Inter’s vertical style. But the skill set of the players he inherited wasn’t the same. Over the summer, the Italian champions lost three key players and their replacements were hardly like-for-like.

 

Edin Dzeko, for instance, is a markedly different striker to Lukaku who was at his best, as Conte recognised, with the play ahead of him and plenty of space to run into where he could use his pace. Dzeko, by contrast, is a silky nine-and-a-half — he is at ease between the lines and enables Inter to have more quality in possession higher up the pitch. The 35-year-old has helped compensate for Christian Eriksen’s exit, a burden shared by centre-back Bastoni, who is second for carries and open-play passes behind deep-lying playmaker Marcelo Brozovic. The Italy international has stepped into the void left by Brentford’s new signing and regularly follows the play all the way to the opposition penalty area, as best exemplified in the 3-0 win against Roma.

 

Nominally the player brought in to replace Eriksen was Hakan Calhanoglu, who daringly crossed the divide to complete a free transfer from rivals Milan. What “Calha” lacks in vision and creative impressionism, he makes up for in dynamism. The Turk regains possession more than Eriksen did, takes more shots and poses a greater all-round threat. He leads Inter in key passes and expected assists (xA, which means the expected goals value of a shot he assists) and his set-piece deliveries are among the best in Europe.

 

The crosses from team-mate Federico Dimarco aren’t bad either, but plenty of Inter’s 11 goals from corner kicks have been thanks to Calhanoglu. The 28-year-old scored directly from one against Roma.

 

 

And he’s no longer just aiming for Milan Skriniar, who has found the net from four set pieces this season.

 

 

Calhanoglu instead mixes things up with whipped near-post crosses for Martinez…

 

 

…and Ivan Perisic…

 

 

…which shows how Inter keep their opponents guessing at every corner kick. Liverpool’s opposition analysis will no doubt have spent time monitoring the signals we see above. How well Klopp’s players interpret them and defend these set pieces will be one of the hinges on which this tie swings.

 

Inter are one of the tallest sides around — Dzeko, Denzel Dumfries, Stefan de Vrij and Skriniar are all over 6ft 2in — and it’s little wonder they have scored 16 headed goals this season. Dzeko has been more of an aerial threat than at any other time in his career.

 

Inter give the impression of being less predictable than last year when a significant number of their attacks were based around the pace of Hakimi and combinations between Lukaku and Martinez, which constituted one of the best partnerships in Europe. The pair created 29 chances and set up eight goals for each other last season. This year, Inter still play two strikers, but it’s a stretch to say this duet is making the same music as “LuLa”. Martinez hasn’t assisted a single goal for Dzeko and vice-versa in Serie A this season. Saturday’s equaliser in Naples was about as close as they’ve come.

 

The bullets in Lautaro’s chamber have instead been supplied by Nicolo Barella with balls over the top like this…

 

 

…or angled crosses in behind like this…

 

 

…and this…

 

 

It’s a major blow, then, that the wine lover from Sardinia with a penchant for France’s finest vintages is suspended after his petulance in the final group stage game at Real Madrid, where he lashed out at Eder Militao and got himself sent off. His absence and that of Bastoni, their quickest and best centre-back in one-v-one situations who is expected to miss out with a twisted ankle, leave Inter even more up against it than they were already.

 

Nevertheless, Inzaghi can lean into his team’s ability in possession, their strength from set pieces, balls over the top for Perisic, classic Inzaghi wing-back to wing-back moves, the contributions of the reborn super-sub Alexis Sanchez, and the deployment of Hakimi’s replacement Dumfries in the same way he used Sergej Milinkovic-Savic at Lazio.

 

Dumfries, a revelation with Holland at the European Championship, is not as good a passer or a dribbler as his predecessor, but his height advantage can lead to mismatches like this in the Milan derby against Theo Hernandez…

 

 

The signing from PSV Eindhoven shows the sense for goal of midfielders renowned for making late runs into the box. Here, look at how alive he is to the possibilities that might arise from Brozovic spotting Dzeko, who is bending a run in behind the Salernitana defence.

 

 

Dumfries turns on the afterburners and makes sure he’s available for a square ball and straightforward finish.

 

 

A great deal of attention will focus on how well the best team in Italy copes with the intensity of an English team, one the most associated with an aggressive counter-pressing style in Europe. Inter lost top spot in Serie A at the weekend to their Milan rivals, and the tightness of the title race in Serie A compared to the Premier League probably leaves Inzaghi and his players more conflicted about their priorities than Liverpool.

 

Inter aren’t interested in relinquishing their scudetto to anyone, but especially not to Milan — particularly when the next league title is the 20th and worth a prestigious second star above their blue and black crest. Tension is mounting, but if you zoom out and survey the big picture Inter still have a game in hand and have played every team in the top six twice except for Juventus. That doesn’t mean Serie A is about to become downhill, but the tour de force is over and Inter have to give it their all on Wednesday. For all the aforementioned context, opinions about them outside of Italy will largely be defined by what happens over these two legs.

 

Even domestically, Inter’s record in big games has been questioned as performances have not got the results they’ve deserved, either on account of a failure to take their chances while on top — see Madrid at home, the first Madonnina against Milan and the Derby d’Italia — or a frustrating loss of nerve — Lazio away and the second, most recent Madonnina.

 

Wednesday represents another opportunity to correct that impression. San Siro’s concrete slopes and twirling walkways were built for epic nights in Europe, the kind Interisti haven’t experienced since the treble.

 

To overcome Liverpool, however, it’s likely they will have to summon the spirit of Peiro.

[dockers_strike]

There is a school of thought that Liverpool’s signing of Luis Diaz signals the beginning of a changing of the guard in Jurgen Klopp’s famed front three.

 

That evolution is already well advanced. Once, it was unthinkable that Liverpool would head into a Champions League knockout tie such as that against Inter Milan on Wednesday without a forward line of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. Not now. The era of an ‘established’ Anfield attacking trio is over. 

 

The once tried-and-trusted threesome has started together in just five of a combined 30 Premier League and Champions League fixtures this season. Three years ago, in only eight of Liverpool’s 30 Premier League matches the potent combination did not make the starting XI.

The significant difference can partially be explained by injuries to Firmino, allied to the recent absence of Salah and Mane on African Nations Cup duty.

 

More broadly it is a tribute to the impact of Diogo Jota, whose form is such that it would be more of a surprise if he did not start the first leg of the round of 16 in the San Siro. If Jota was considered an understudy to Firmino upon arrival from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2020, if anything the roles have reversed.

 

Jota’s 17 goals are one facet of his exceptional season, the Portuguese international seamlessly adapting to Klopp’s expectations with and without the ball. He does much of what Firmino does outside the penalty area - which is plenty in triggering the high pressing game - and more inside it.

 

“Diogo, outstanding player, outstanding person, someone who has added a lot to the team, versatile, played in all positions in the front line and scored goals in all,” said his team-mate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, the latest to add to the tributes.

 

“He gets himself in positions where he can score and puts the ball in the back of the net and that is all you ask for.”

 

Liverpool anticipate Diaz’s exciting start will provide the same credible competition to Salah and Mane, their contract impasse an unavoidable shadow as the Merseyside club focus on the present with an eye on the future. With respect to Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi - players whose back-up status was undeniable as they were only occasional starters who have never sustained the consistency level to be more than that - there is more for Klopp to ponder in his forward selection now than at any time in his reign. 

 

Rewind two months and the idea of a Liverpool strikeforce thriving without their superstar African pair was fanciful. Instead, the club was given a tantalising hint that if deals for the trio are not agreed over the next 18 months (Firmino’s contract also expires in 2023) the contingency plan is already under way.

 

Liverpool won five of the six games without Mane and Salah over January, and a sixth against Leicester City in which the Egyptian’s comeback was limited to a substitute appearance as Diaz shone on his full debut.

Admittedly, the sample size is small. Salah, Mane and Firmino - club legends who have much more to offer - are integral to Liverpool’s bid for four trophies this season. To lose one in 2023 could be considered unfortunate, two would be gut-wrenching and all three careless, truly representing the end of an era. Their reunion at Burnley last weekend was a reminder that the combination which has served Klopp so well still has legs. But there is no question Liverpool have quietly begun to transition without any drop in standards. Quite the contrary when examining the prolific goal output which has so far yielded 95 in all competitions.

 

“We constantly prepare for today and tomorrow,” as Klopp said after unveiling Diaz.

 

Klopp now finds himself fielding regular questions about his selection headaches. He has been used to that with his supply of midfielders. Naturally, he sees the increased striking options as blessing rather than chore.

 

“It is a good situation to have, but it is much more important how we play than who is playing,” he said before Wednesday night's tie.

“It helps that we have solutions for different problems, options for different situations. We need fresh legs for this game.”

 

The different rules of European competition also help Klopp keep the spirits of those who miss out high, ensuring whichever two start on the bench in Italy are likely to feature at some point.

 

“Much more important is that we have the chance to make five changes, a massive boost for football,” said Klopp.

“It is good but the boys have to deal with it as well. I cannot always play the same line-up just because we won the last game. It is something we have to learn. We never had it before. It is pretty exciting.”

 

Exciting for the manager, perhaps, but new territory for those who must get accustomed to a rotation policy that applies in Liverpool’s attack as frequently as it has its midfield.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/02/16/jurgen-klopp-confronts-unthinkable-liverpool-dropping-one/

[Jordy Brouwer]

There's some quality analysis in this thread. With I had time to read it all. 

[Creator Supreme]

5 hours ago, Anubis said:

 

Grazie postino Pat, ora torniamo al tuo giro a Greendale, c'è una bella fica!

[Carvalho Diablo]

Italian sides are terrified of our blistering attacking pace.

 

They cannot match us physically or in terms of pace / tempo / pressing. They would love to drag us into a slow - slow - quick - slow chess match and try to cynically weasel their way to a win.

 

Fuck that, show them zero respect, just go out there and fucking batter them. Like City did last night and exactly like we've done to countless foreign teams over the last 5 years.

[TheDrowningMan]

They’re an Italian side in 2022, so we’ll win this handily. Being generous to Inter, it would be like losing a two-legged tie to Arsenal.