Liverpool narrowly escape again but Inter Milan defeat sends clear warning that Reds must improve

Liverpool have finally been beaten in a football game after almost three months. The last time the Reds lost a game was in December against Leicester City in the Premier League. But they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan at Anfield on Wednesday evening in a match where they were largely second best.

Jurgen Klopp’s side ultimately progressed to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League on aggregate. They won the first leg 2-0 at Giuseppe Meazza in the first leg.

Despite playing at home in the second leg, the Reds lacked intensity and couldn’t cope with Inter Milan’s energy. The Nerazzurri were rather the more lively side and deserved to win.

They scored through Lautaro Martinez. But for Alexis Sanchez’s sending off, Simone Inzaghi’s side could’ve gone on to score a second goal against the Premier League side.

Reds narrowly escape again

Liverpool were largely outplayed in the first leg and Inter Milan only lost that game because they did not take their chances.

Interestingly, the story was no different at Anfield. This was another near-escape for the Reds after their Italian opponents prevented them from playing their normal game.

In the end, Klopp's side mustered just one shot on target. Despite playing the last 30 minutes with a man advantage, Inter Milan still kept them in check.

The Reds were lucky over two legs and will not get away with it if they repeat such a dire performance in the quarter-finals.

Warning signs for Liverpool

Under Klopp, Liverpool have grown used to dominating games, but they’ve been very sloppy and unconvincing in recent weeks.

The Reds rode their luck against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final and survived late scares in the wins against Norwich City and West Ham United. Their latest defeat to Inter Milan is further proof that Liverpool are far from their best.

Klopp admitted after Wednesday’s game, as quoted by Goal:

“I’m glad we don’t face Inter every week, they’re a very tricky opponent. They are fighters, they are warriors. The difficulties we had were pretty close to what I expected. Inter are a really, really good side, set up for these kind of games… The opponent caused us problems but if we had used our chances we win this game."

He added:

“We lost a lot of simple balls, which can happen and when the ball was in the air it was like slapstick with the wind. The counter-press was not really there. We were around challenges but not in challenges and we didn't get the momentum, that's what we were lacking."

The warning signs are clear that Liverpool, in their current form, are very beatable and will have to improve to finish the season strongly.