Milan – Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp insists their Champions League tie against Inter Milan is far from over and their 2-0 victory in the first leg in Italy is a “dangerous” scoreline for the return encounter.
Liverpool were not at their very best in the San Siro on Wednesday, but goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah put the Premier League side in a commanding position, but not one they should feel too comfortable with ahead of next month’s return leg.
“It is still dangerous,” Klopp said. “It is only halftime.
“We don’t feel like we are halfway through and can cruise. We will have to be ready for them again. Inter are a good side. I don’t say ‘job done, put your feet on the table’ in the past so why should I think different about it now?
“They are a very physical team. They played real smart balls. They have this deep last line and in the beginning we did very well. I was not surprised – they are good. We know that. We have to be ready for the second half.”
The goal that unlocked Inter, who had their chances, especially in the first half, came via a Firmino header from a corner – something that Klopp insisted was no fluke.
“Peter Krawietz (one of Liverpool’s coaches) and our analysts are responsible for that (a set piece goal),” Klopp added.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to train but we trained set pieces yesterday. You cannot do it without intensity, so it is all credit to Pete and his boys.”
Inter suffered their first home defeat to an English side in European competition since March 2008, when they also lost to Liverpool in the Champions League (0-1), ending a six-game unbeaten run at home to English opposition.
Their coach, Simone Inzaghi, felt things could have gone differently this time around.
“We don’t have much hope now but we will go Anfield to play the best possible match and we will see,” he said. “We knew that they were going to press us, but we also did it well and I think we deserved a different result.”
Reuters