Liverpool told to be wary of ‘crazy’ Inter Milan as Champions League warning issued by star
Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella has fired a Champions League warning to Liverpool, calling the Nerazzurri ‘crazy’ opponents.
Liverpool have a 2-0 advantage in their round of 16 tie against the Italian outfit, following their victory at the San Siro on February 16. Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah got on the scoresheet for the Reds to put them in the driving seat.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will go into the second leg at Anfield high in confidence, after beating Chelsea in the Carabao Cup recently.
But central midfielder Barella insists it will not be easy for Liverpool to reach the quarter-finals. The reigning Serie A champions thrashed Salernitana 5-0 on Friday.
Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez ended his goal drought in style too, bagging a hat-trick in the comfortable win.
Barella will miss the second leg against Liverpool due to suspension, but he reckons a team-mate can excel in his absence.
“It is disappointing not to be there, but Arturo Vidal was Man of the Match in the first leg when replacing me, so I am sure he’ll have another great performance,” Barella told Sky Sport Italia (via Football Italia).
Inter ‘should not fear’ Liverpool – Nicolo Barella
“This evening’s win is certainly a confidence-booster, but in general playing at Anfield is such a wonderful experience, we shouldn’t feel any fear, only hunger.
“It’s going to take something remarkable to turn it around, but then Inter are ‘crazy’ and anything can happen.”
Liverpool were also victorious in their last domestic outing before the Champions League last-16 clash. They beat West Ham 1-0 at Anfield thanks to Sadio Mane’s first-half goal.
However, the Reds’ win was not as comfortable as Inter’s. West Ham should have found the net through Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio after the interval.
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Jurgen Klopp reacts to latest Prem win
The result took Liverpool to seven consecutive wins in the Premier League, which is why they are back in contention to lift the title.
During a post-match interview with Sky Sports, manager Jurgen Klopp said: “I don’t know if we will remember this game as one of the important ones.
“We know about the different things West Ham are good at. In the first half we denied them these situations but in the second half the game was more open.
“They knew they had to be direct and around the second ball we were not as good, but you have to get over the line and I was pleased with that.
“If you are not well organised you have to defend with passion and that’s what we did.”
Klopp also praised goalscorer Mane: “I saw a lot of top individual performances, Sadio Mane was one of them. He is really difficult to defend against. But in the end we did not make as much of the situations as we could have.”
READ MORE: Klopp wants ‘real problem’ addressed after learning from Liverpool cup success
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