After an exciting Tuesday, UEFA Champions League round of 16 action rolls into Wednesday with another big-time clash as Inter Milan welcome Liverpool to Northern Italy in the first leg. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET, and the match will air on both CBS and Paramount+. Liverpool enter as the favorites with Inter stumbling as of late domestically, winning just one of their last four Serie A matches entering the game. But while their momentum may not be there, with the support of their faithful fan base at the Giuseppe Meazza, Inter will expect to get a result to position themselves well ahead of next month’s second leg. Specifically Inter have increasingly relied on their dominance from corner kick situations to carry them. The Reds, now with their players back from the Africa Cup of Nations, look like contenders once again and will aim to take advantage of an Inter defense that has conceded in six of its last eight matches.
We will be with you the entire way providing updates, analysis and highlights below.
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Viewing information
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 16 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: San Siro — Milan
TV: CBS
Live stream: Paramount+
Odds: Inter +240; Draw +250; Liverpool +110 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
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Van Dijk is in the mood
Liverpool are so good it’s not often we get to see Van Dijk playing like this, a masterclass in defending as he cruises back to brush Dzeko off the ball just as he looks like running in behind to win a long ball. That has been his entire night so far, a reminder why he is the best center back in the world.
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40′ Skriniar header goes wide
Another corner kick, and Skriniar gets his head on it but sends the ball a few yards wide of the back post. That was some opportunity, but he gets on it late. Poor defending there from the Reds, but they get away with it.
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Vidal gonna Vidal
There has been something extremely amusing about watching Vidal, in for the suspended Barella, trying to subsume his inner hardman and keep things composed in the middle of the park. A heavy foul on Salah and you can tell he wants to go ballistic, to have a word with the referee, but he perhaps realises he has to play the long game here.
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23′ Mane again with a fine chance!
Off a corner, the ball falls to Mane just a few yards from the box, and he opts for the bicycle kick that goes wide! Both teams knocking on the door, but Liverpool with the better chances so far. Inter with a 0.08 xG so far, while Liverpool already at 0.51.
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16′ Crossbar for Inter!
Right after Liverpool’s best chance, Inter have theirs! Calhanoglu gets deep into the left side of the box and rockets a shot off the crossbar! It looked like it was going in even after it hit the frame of the goal!
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15′ Mane nearly!!!
A great set piece into the box falls to the head of Sadio Mane at the far post, but the AFCON winner hits it over the goal. What a chance that was! It looked like the equalizer, but things remain at 0-0.
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Smart pressing from Inter
A little thing but Inzaghi’s side always seem to be in the ideal position to cut off passes when they press the ball. They don’t have the intensity of a Bundesliga side (or even Liverpool) but there is a calculated, precise nature to how they look to win the ball back that is making it hard for their opponents to progress the ball.
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5′ Best chance of the game so far!
It’s Lautaro Martinez, and it is just wide! The ball falls to the Argentine atop the box, and the former Racing Club man takes a quick hit, trying to place it far post, but it goes about a yard wide. A really decent look there for the hosts.
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Liverpool hitting the Inter right
The visitors are making good running early on and they’re keen to test that left flank of Inter’s, which looks a little lighter defensively with Perisic and Calhanoglu to shield Bastoni, who had been struggling with injury issues. Mane drifts across early on, his clipped cross nearly deflected into Jota’s path, whilst soon after Salah holds Bastoni at arms’ length before flicking one off into midfield. Look for that area to be a key spot for Liverpool.
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Encouraging start for Liverpool
The Reds are seeing the majority of the ball in the early instances, with Mane producing a dangerous cross to Jota, but Skriniar does well to get a flick on it to send it wide.
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UNDERWAY!!!
Here we go from the San Siro! It’s Inter in their classic blue and black stripped kit, while Liverpool are using their classic red!
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Klopp explains team decisions
Four changes for Liverpool tonight, including a Champions League debut for Elliott, the youngest player to play in a European knockout game for the Reds. Speaking to BT Sport ahead of kick off, Klopp did all he could to cool the pressure on his young midfielder.
“It’s a team we thought makes sense for tonight because of the way we have to play tonight. We have to play in the half spaces, we have to be good offensively,” said Klopp. “That’s what we try to to do, to share the intensity within the group.
“[Elliott] is in good shape, in a good moment football-wise and exactly the sort of player we need tonight. There’s no pressure on him tonight… If it goes well it’s all up to him. If it doesn’t it’s all my fault.
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Watch out for Luis Diaz
Here’s someone who could change the game off the bench
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Vidal agrees with Klopp
When it was put to Klopp pre-match that Inter Milan would be worse off without Nicolo Barrela (suspended from the group stage) he did not disagree but he was at pains to point out that Arturo Vidal, a player for the big occasion, would be a more than adequate replacement for the Nerazzuri. The man himself thinks the same.
“I agree with Jurgen Klopp,” Vidal told Amazon Prime Italia. “He is one of the best coaches in the world, he knows about football and how my career developed.
“It’s true that I have played many Champions League games at the top level, now I am here with Inter and it’s the most important game in the two years I have been here.”
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From Championship to Champions League
A year ago Harvey Elliott was lighting it up in the Championship on loan at Blackburn Rovers. Don’t bet against him doing the same in the Champions League tonight, even in an injury-disrupted season the 18 year old has looked every inch a top tier performer in this Liverpool side, fulfilling a long held dream to prove himself among the best of the best.
In April of last year he spoke to CBS Sports about his targets for next season. Looking back now it’s rather funny just how emphatically he has overachieved.
“I’m going to go into preseason thinking that I can get into this team,” he said. “And whatever way my chance comes, it’s just about making sure I take it. Obviously, nothing’s going to come easy but [I want] to sort of make sure that I’m in and out.
“If I’m needed off the bench make sure that I’m the person they look to. It is just making sure that I’m one of the go to people to come on or to start and influence the game. That’s my position and that’s my role to score or create. I think if I’m doing that, and obviously working hard for the team as well, I think I’ve had a chance to be in and around it.
“I’m just going to do whatever it takes.”
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Inzaghi isn’t worried about the recent results
Inter’s manager, ahead of the match, spoke about the poor string of results, including the second-half collapse against AC Milan. He doesn’t seem worried at all, saying that they’ve played well but just didn’t get the results they wanted.
“Against Milan and Napoli, we have got worse results than we deserved,” he sad in his pre-match presser. “We have to think game by game. We’ve come off the back of an incredible run. We go forward step by step. The next one is Liverpool.”
Inter have one win in their last four, but that followed a run of winning nine out of 10, with the only loss coming against Real Madrid.
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Team news
Inter Milan XI: Handanovic; De Vrij, Skriniar, Bastoni; Dumfries, Vidal, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Martinez, Dzeko
Subs: Cordaz, Radu, Gagliardini, Sanchez, Ranocchia, Dimarco, D’Ambrosio, Darmian, Sangalli, Carboni, Caicedo
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konta, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Elliott; Salah, Jota, Mane
Subs: Kelleher, Milner, Keita, Firmino, Gomez, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Tsimikas, Luis Diaz, Origi, Matip
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Expert picks
Eight of our experts — including yours truly and James Benge — made our picks for this first-leg affair. Not one person picked Inter Milan to win, with six picking a draw. Both Benge and our Mke Goodman have Liverpool winning this first leg.
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Just over an hour away
A friendly reminder that today’s match will air on CBS, and it will also be available on Paramount+.
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Liverpool expects
It was an intriguing question posed to Trent Alexander-Arnold in his pre-match press conference yesterday. Liverpool have won big trophies under Klopp but not a lot of them. One Premier League, one Champions League. Should they have won more? Here’s what he had to say:
“We don’t feel disappointed that we haven’t won enough trophies as the ones we have won are the biggest and best you can get your hands on.
“Not making any digs but you look at Man City’s amazing team and they haven’t been able to lift the Champions League. They won a couple of Prems but haven’t been able to win the Champions League. We’ve won both over the last few years and it shows you we can do it in both competitions.
“There is an expectation now, as a team and players, to win trophies. One trophy a season minimum is what we have to achieve. With the squad and the manager we have we should be winning trophies. It is expected now. It is not the stage now where we are happy to get to finals and it is a day out. There is expectation now to want to do it every season.”
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Corner kicks: Advantage Inter?
Our Francesco Porzio took a look at the numbers when it comes to Inter Milan on attacking corners, and there’s been real progress under Inzaghi. This could be one of the ways to do damage on Liverpool, though Virgil van Dijk will have plenty to say about it. You can read his full story here.
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Concerning form for Inter
It looked like at the end of January that Inter would be able to take control in Serie A, but the draw at Atalanta, the loss at home to rival Milan and then the draw at Napoli has seen them fall to second place in the league ahead of this clash. Now, that is a tough stretch, but they are hoping that those tests will better prepare them for what will be their toughest opponent of this season so far. The priority at Inter has always been defense, and that will have to be the case again here against a Liverpool side that just got Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah back from the Africa Cup of Nations.
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Inter Milan news
The Nerazzurri will for sure be without three players for this clash — Nico Barella is suspended, newly-acquired Robin Gosens is dealing with a thigh injury, and Joaquin Correa misses out due to a thigh injury. Meanwhile, Alessandro Bastoni is doubtful with an ankle injury. But those absences shouldn’t change much for manager Simone Inzaghi. Arturo Vidal likely does side nto the midfield, while Ivan Perisic and Hakan Calhanoglu are expected to provide support to Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez in attack.
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Qué Golazo: Why Inter Milan can make life difficult for Liverpool
Liverpool return to the San Siro for a second straight Champions League game on Wednesday, only this time they’ll be taking on the defending Serie A champions.
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Qué Golazo: Sadio Mane on AFCON, Salah, Champions League …
Liverpool star and newly-crowned AFCON champion Sadio Mane joins Luis Miguel Echegaray to discuss the euphoria in his native Senegal, his “lucky” New Balance cleats, his humanitarian work, and the Reds’ upcoming clash with Inter Milan.
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Liverpool injury news
Jurgen Klopp arrived at his press conference yesterday with welcome news. Jordan Henderson had taken a bit of a knock to his knee in the win over Burnley but he was given the all clear, meaning that Liverpool have a full strength squad to take to Milan. That means superstar forwards on the bench, whoever they may be. We’ll find out in about an hour.
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Wednesday’s broadcast schedule
- UEFA Champions League Today, 2 p.m. ET, CBS and Paramount+
- Inter Milan vs. Liverpool, 3 p.m. ET, CBS and Paramount+
- Red Bull Salzburg vs. Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+
- UEFA Champions League Post-Match Show, 5 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+
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Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to live coverage of today’s prime Champions League match, reigning Italian champions Inter Milan welcoming Liverpool to the San Siro for what promises to be an intriguing clash between two former champions. The Reds are six for six so far in this competition, in impressive form domestically and full of battle-hardened players with the core of this side largely unchanged from that which won the 2019 title. Still Inter will be by far their toughest test in the tournament so far, Simone Inzaghi’s side rising to the top of the Italian league with a sterling run of form in recent weeks. This should be a cracker.
