Jurgen Klopp confessed Liverpool were ‘not great, but stayed in the game’ and their options off the bench ultimately decided the Champions League win away to impressive Inter, but Diogo Jota picked up an injury.
The expectations from many were that this would be a walkover, but the 2-0 result did not reflect the overall performance of the two teams.
Champions League | Inter 0-2 Liverpool: Clinical finishing the difference
The Nerazzurri dominated for long periods and hit the crossbar with Hakan Calhanoglu in the first half, but Roberto Firmino’s header from a corner and a Mohamed Salah shot that squirmed through several legs were the only two Liverpool shots on target.
They proved enough to seal a 2-0 result at San Siro, ensuring they have a 100 per cent record in the Champions League this season.
“We started really well, caused Inter problems, but didn’t finish our situations. We didn’t defend particularly well on the switches to the wing-backs, especially Ivan Perisic, it was really tricky,” Klopp told Amazon Prime Italia.
“They had chances, but couldn’t finish them off. Dzeko scored, it looked like a chance, but he was offside, so it wasn’t.
“We weren’t great, but we stayed in the game.”
Klopp was asked whether Liverpool’s strength in depth and the options they could take off the bench to shake things up made the difference, an analysis he agreed with.
“Unfortunately, we had to take off Diogo Jota, something with his ankle early in the game and he couldn’t carry on.
“Bobby (Firmino) needed a little bit to find his way in the game, they were coming from all directions, but Hendo (Henderson) came on, fresh legs and we started controlling the game a lot better.”
“Diogo had to go off with something around the ankle ligament, we will see.”
“At half-time the ankle was swollen and we had to change.”
Jürgen Klopp reflects on Liverpool’s 2-0 #UCL win over Inter and gives a Diogo Jota injury update… 🤕
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— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 16, 2022
So much better
Dzeco was just too sluggish,dzeco was just minus one