Rio Ferdinand singled out three of Liverpool's defensive players for praise after the 2-0 away win over Inter Milan... but reckoned Jurgen Klopp's side were not at their best.
It was a hard-fought battle between two European giants at the San Siro with the hosts creating a decent amount of chances against a Liverpool backline that are notoriously difficult to pass - yet failing to manage a shot on target.
The Reds' attacking quality eventually shone through as goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah handed Liverpool a huge advantage ahead of the second leg back at Anfield next month.
While on punditry duty for BT Sport, Ferdinand praised Liverpool at full-time for being able to grind out a result when they needed it most.
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"I think two-nil probably flatters them a little bit but you take that," he explained.
"I think the bedrock of most performances away from home, this stage of the Champions League, is a good defence and I think today that was proved."
Ferdinand went on to highlight who he thought performed well for the Reds on the night.
"The two centre-backs were immense. Fabinho in front of them as well. You go to ride your luck as well, weather the storm in games.
"You can’t go into a game and expect it to be perfect from one minute to 90 minutes, you got to expect a little five-minute spell - they had big spells, long spells in this game where they were under the cosh.
"But they've got that experience, that nous to be able to navigate through games and then you get the opportunities that they got and they punished Inter Milan."
Summer signing Ibrahima Konate was near-faultless when paired with stalwart Virgil van Dijk. Together, the duo prevented Inter from forcing Alisson into a save.
Fabinho delivered a trademark performance in the middle of the park, shutting down any kind of threat thrown his way and offering vital protection to the Reds back four throughout.
Klopp was not in the mood to get ahead of himself despite the victory and insisted "it's half-time" ahead of the second-leg.
"It’s still dangerous, it’s half-time, nothing else. That’s how it is in the knockout stages.
"We don’t feel like we’re halfway through, it will be tricky and we have to be ready. It’s 2-0 at half-time.
"I wouldn’t tell the boys it was job done if it was 2-0 at half-time in any other game here, so I won’t think any different here."
