Had the farce of a UEFA Champions League draw had not transpired then Liverpool could well have been playing in the shadow of the Eastern Alps this evening instead of under the lights of the San Siro.
December's last 16 draw had initially thrown the Reds and Red Bull Salzburg together before a second draw saw Jurgen Klopp's side pitted against the Italian giants of Inter Milan for a place in the last eight of European football's most glittering and lucrative knockout competition.
The draw had to be made again after a mistake was made in allowing Manchester United to be drawn against Villarreal, a side who they faced in the group stage, and after the rather embarrassing episode was finally concluded the outcome was that it wasn't Austria where Liverpool would be heading, but Italy.
