The clean sweep of four English clubs in the quarterfinals -- a record for any nation in the competition � arrived with the cleanest of strikes from Fernando Torres, the formidable Spain international, and Liverpool march on as a team to be feared,writes Andy Hunter.
San Siro was deserted, blue and yellow ticker-tape strewn over its empty seats, save for 4,200 Liverpool supporters singing along with a Beatles number that blared from the loudspeakers and captured the occasion perfectly. �Get Back� they sang in unison with the city's other acclaimed export. Quite right, too. Rafael Benitez has taken Liverpool back to where they once belonged.
A third Champions League final in four seasons is on the horizon for the Spaniard as a relentless Liverpool, combined with a touch of excellence by Fernando Torres, made relatively light work of the supposed vengeful might of Internazionale. The clean sweep of four English clubs in the quarterfinals � a record for any nation in the competition � arrived with the cleanest of strikes from the formidable Spain international, and Liverpool march on as a team to be feared.
Roberto Mancini's men gave their all only for the wasteful front line of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Julio Cruz together with the 50th-minute dismissal of Nicolas Burdisso to deflate their chances of becoming the first team in 16 years of the Champions League to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit. Mancini later announced he will be quitting the job this summer.
For 43 years Liverpool have cursed a referee for depriving them of glory against Inter and no doubt the Italian champions will return the compliment now that the 1965 European Cup semifinal has been avenged. Inter played 100 minutes of this 180-minute tie with 10 men, Burdisso repeating the mistakes of the man he had replaced from the first leg, the suspended Marco Materazzi, but blaming officialdom is a diversionary tactic without merit.
Liverpool were the more disciplined, clinical and, it needs saying, professional side over the two encounters. With Torres as their spearhead they also carry a far greater threat than any of the Anfield sides that reached the finals in 2005 and 2007, and following his 26th goal of an outstanding debut season at the club, Moscow does not appear out of reach come May.
This was not the show of defiance that protected a slender lead with a goalless draw at Juventus in the quarterfinals three years ago but an effort that fulfilled Steven Gerrard's pre-match promise to �attack and kill the tie.� True, Inter had five glorious chances to have transformed the outcome but ultimately Liverpool's progress was a straightforward exercise.
Against 11 men of Inter their hopes were initially in the balance. Whistling was incessant from all sides as the home fans, in common with the carabinieri and stewards outside, provided a hostile reception. Given the task in hand, the Champions League pedigree of the two sides and Inter's form since they succumbed with 10 men at Anfield, Mancini's team required all the advantages they could muster. But these were not enough.
Inter, their domestic supremacy again failing to translate on to a European stage, had won only once in four league games since the first leg. This performance, however, validated the excuse that the Italian champions had been focussing mind and body on the second encounter. Revenge and one final chance to save reputations made for a potent mix until Burdisso's lunge into Lucas Leiva turned his second yellow card of the night to red.
Key to Inter's initial transformation was the leadership of Javier Zanetti and an overdue display of intelligence, fight, but not finishing, from Ibrahimovic. The Swedish centre-forward made no secret of his disgust at being overlooked for the European Footballer of the Year awards last season when he would have been better advised to concentrate on his inconsistency in Europe.
Certainly Liverpool had seen no reason to fear him beforehand, but he ended his torpor to inspire a dominant first-half performance. Ibrahimovic should have inspired even more but two glaring misses, one when sent clean through by a Martin Skrtel miskick, drained confidence from the players in black and blue.
His profligacy was matched by Cruz, although credit belongs to Jose Reina for two of the three opportunities the Argentinian failed to convert. The Liverpool goalkeeper tipped a low drive away from his bottom corner, then reacted superbly when Cruz's backheel at the near post almost caught him wrong-footed.
Ryan Babel escaped a second booking for handball and Liverpool's attacking threat was sporadic until Burdisso gave the Norwegian referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo, no option but to produce a red card. The Milan side cursed their luck at the expense of the indiscipline that had undermined them in both legs, but still they could have unnerved Liverpool but Ibrahimovic shot wide when one-on-one with Reina. There and then the tie was settled, and a comfort zone descended on Liverpool when Fabio Aurelio intercepted on the left and found Torres lurking on the edge of the area. With a swift touch, turn and drive into the bottom corner, Liverpool had dispatched formidable opponents with a minimum of fuss again.
THE RESULTSInter Milan 0 lost to Liverpool 1 (Torres 63). Half-time: 0-0.
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