Jürgen Klopp observed last week that this is the strongest squad he has ever worked with, and it’s probably just as well. Liverpool ended up beating Inter Milan on Wednesday, 2–0, a first-leg lead that should be enough to secure its place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. But Liverpool was severely tested, and it was only after four substitutions that the game shifted decisively in favor of the Premier League side.
Liverpool, for a brief period after halftime, was rattled. Inter put it under the sort of pressure it rarely faces and, at least initially, it did not respond particularly well. For a time it seemed a shock was possible—although it says much for the respective statuses of the Premier League and Serie A that it would have been considered a surprise for the team second in Italy (and the reigning champion) to beat the team second in England at home.
For a few seasons now there has been a clear physical disparity between Premier League and Serie A sides, but while Inter was at times unsettled by the Liverpool press, it was not blown away by it as AC Milan had been by what was essentially a second-string Liverpool side at the end of the group stage. Indeed, at times, it was Inter who looked the more physically imposing.
