Handanović might have been a goalkeeper with more freedom to move inside the penalty area than a defender, but even Simone Inzaghi had never expected Gvardiol to join the attack before the match.
So when Gvardiol came at him, Handanović was beaten as well.
The Croatian defender put the ball into the net!
"Gvardiol scores!"
"He's just produced a completely different kind of attack down the right from what we normally see from Alexander-Arnold! He carried the ball forward himself, beat his men, and scored. Isn't he supposed to be a defender?"
"Liverpool have scored against Inter Milan through one of their defenders, and Gvardiol is sprinting straight toward Leo!"
Gvardiol charged toward Leo and threw his arms around him.
The sheer force of his momentum caught Leo completely off guard and knocked him to the ground.
Rodri quickly grabbed Gvardiol, worried that he was so excited he might lose control of his own celebration.
This time, Klopp had already grabbed Krawietz and Zubizarreta before either assistant could run off. The three celebrated together with the players on the bench.
Liverpool fans had never expected the team to look this comfortable at Inter's home ground.
The first half was only halfway over, yet Liverpool were already two goals ahead.
"This definitely isn't the real level of Inter Milan. I'm certain of that."
"But if you're already two goals down in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie, especially at home, then your first objective has to be getting level before you leave your own ground."
"And even a draw might not be enough."
Simone Inzaghi called almost every Inter player over and began giving them new tactical instructions.
"Inter fans will definitely keep believing in Inzaghi because he's an excellent coach."
"But right now, belief alone isn't going to put the ball in the net!"
Inzaghi pulled Çalhanoğlu aside and explained a few tactical changes.
Inter's players then discussed them among themselves before settling on their new approach.
Gvardiol reluctantly ended his celebration.
For a defender, goals and the celebrations that came with them were rare enough that he wanted to enjoy every second whenever he got the chance.
The Champions League knockout match continued inside this great stadium.
Inter's three-center-back system began to change.
The adjustment started with Çalhanoğlu receiving the ball and moving it out to Dimarco. Brozović began dropping deeper, with Vidal shifting alongside him and pulling the marking structure with them.
Inter no longer wanted Leo interfering with Çalhanoğlu.
In the 34th minute.
Dimarco began pushing forward down the flank.
Even while sprinting, his balance looked excellent.
Gvardiol stayed with him, while Brozović began carrying the ball and deliberately moved closer to Leo, forcing Leo to switch his defensive assignment.
Rodri moved across to cover Çalhanoğlu, while Szoboszlai positioned himself to cut off Brozović's passing lane.
But Brozović chose to send the ball forward.
This time, he didn't look for Džeko.
He found Lautaro Martínez instead.
Lautaro Martínez controlled the ball with his left foot and played it to Džeko.
Džeko then slipped the ball toward the left, finding Dimarco.
Gvardiol once again reached out an arm to slow Dimarco down.
But this time, Dimarco neither went down nor lost speed.
Instead, he powered forward through the contact, practically dragging Gvardiol along with him as he collected Džeko's pass and burst into Liverpool's penalty area.
Alisson completely covered the near post.
Van Dijk was positioned centrally to block Dimarco's crossing lane.
So Dimarco simply shot from the left.
There was so much power behind the strike that Alisson didn't even consider trying to catch it.
He could only parry the ball away.
After changing their attacking approach, Inter had won themselves a corner.
"Inzaghi has finally decided to let Inter's key players play to their strengths."
"Dimarco, Çalhanoğlu, and Lautaro Martínez are combining very well. Inter have finally stopped trying to force every ball into Džeko, because Lautaro Martínez is perfectly capable of holding the ball up too!"
"Let Lautaro hold it, create passing space for Džeko, and then work the ball out to Dimarco. That was an excellent move."
"Inter need to keep attacking like this!"
For the corner, Inter placed two players at the near post and two at the far post.
Džeko, the tallest player, stood in the middle, while another Inter player moved around close to him.
When Çalhanoğlu delivered the corner, Brozović, who had been moving around Džeko, suddenly sprinted straight toward Alisson.
Brozović's sudden run delayed Alisson's decision to come off his line by just a fraction.
It also disrupted Van Dijk's read of the situation.
Džeko jumped and headed the ball toward goal.
Alisson couldn't reach it, but Konaté was stationed on the left and headed the ball back out.
Then, a second later, Lautaro Martínez appeared.
This time, Lautaro intelligently directed his header toward the opposite side from Konaté.
Alisson dived after it.
But Lautaro's header curved away from him and dropped into Liverpool's net.
"Lautaro Martínez scores for Inter Milan at home!"
"It's 2-1! Inter have pulled one back!"
"The first half isn't even over yet, and that goal from Lautaro Martínez could be absolutely crucial. Inter need to use this momentum and find another one to draw level!"
"If you supported Inter Milan six years ago and you still support them today, then you're a true Inter fan!"
"Those difficult seasons over the past few years probably drove some supporters away from the Nerazzurri, but I've waited a long time to see Inter back in the Champions League knockout stage!"
"We're not going to lose to Liverpool that easily!"
"Lautaro Martínez is going to help us beat Liverpool!"
Lautaro Martínez grabbed the ball and sprinted back toward the center.
Every stride seemed to carry the same message to the supporters.
No matter the situation, Inter would keep fighting for the win.
Dimarco seemed to have realized something.
This was Gvardiol's first match at right back.
Whenever Gvardiol dropped back into defense, he first had to adjust both the speed and direction of his retreat from what he was normally used to.
That meant Gvardiol wasn't particularly comfortable defending against Dimarco cutting inside.
Dimarco had initially accelerated toward the byline before suddenly cutting inside.
That movement had created the opening that eventually led to Inter's goal.
When play resumed, Dimarco continued attacking Gvardiol in exactly the same way.
In the 39th minute.
Dimarco once again made his run toward Gvardiol.
This time, however, Çalhanoğlu's pass couldn't get past Rodri.
As Rodri intercepted the ball, Vidal suddenly noticed something.
Leo wasn't in the middle.
He was occupying a wide midfield position.
Rodri immediately played the ball out wide to him.
And the area Leo had moved into was exactly the wide midfield zone Dimarco should have been responsible for covering.
Leo knew Dimarco had become Inter's main attacking outlet.
So Leo decided to use a central-to-wide midfielder tactic.
He was going to stop Dimarco from attacking altogether.
...
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