Messing up the initial Champions League draw, UEFA had to redraw the first knockout round fixtures, which saw Liverpool end up having to face Inter Milan.
Their initial opponents were RB Salzburg, which Jürgen Klopp would have most likely preferred, with Inter a far tougher side to play against, recently winning Serie A, albeit under a different manager.
They are still in good form, however, meaning the Reds will need to be at their best to see them off, and they will have to make do with some giving away secrets on how to beat them.
While one of the better teams in England, if not the world, Liverpool aren’t invincible, as seen by their loss to West Ham earlier on in the season, and Claudio Ranieri reckons he knows how to overcome them.
He gave it his best try with Watford this season, although that was his first game in charge, so he will be forgiven for being on the bad end of a 5-0 drubbing.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, the former Leicester manager first talked up the Reds.
Then came the question of how Inter should play if they are to stand a chance against a team that’s clearly in form.
He replied: “First thing, to face the two games with determination and without inferiority complexes. Football is a sport in which nothing is ever taken for granted. Second: limit errors. In the Champions League, mistakes are fatal, especially against the big teams.
“Third: use intelligence. You have to know how to interpret the game. On the pitch, there are times when you feel the things, positive and negative. So: listen carefully to what the match tells you and act accordingly”.
On top of that, Ranieri feels Inter are ‘a team with important values and one who can compete with everyone’.
We’ll see about that.
