Inter Milan came back after two consecutive losses in Serie A with a crucial Champions League 1-0 win against Barcelona on Tuesday thanks to a Hakan Calhanoglu goal.
The Turkish midfielder slotted home a clinical strike from just outside the area, with the ball going into the corner to the goalkeeper’s right in added time before the break. The home win lifted Interto second place in Group C on six points, three behind leaders Bayern Munich and three in front of Barcelona.
Inter and Barca will face each other again next week at the Camp Nou when a third loss in four games would leave Barca in danger of being knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage for the second consecutive season.
Inter came into the match having lost four of their previous six games in all competitions and are ninth in Serie A, four points from the European qualification spots and eight behind leaders Napoli and Atalanta.
Barcelona, by contrast, arrived as the new La Liga leaders and with striker Robert Lewandowski on a roll, having scored in six consecutive La Liga match weeks. But the Polish star forward made no impression at the San Siro, ending with no shots on target, having been neutralized by Inter’s five-man defence.
In the 24th minute, Barcelonagot a break when a potential penalty for a handball byEric Garcia inside the box was ruled out by the VAR check which spotted a close offside in the build-up. Inter Milan had a Joaquin Correa goal ruled out in the very next play for another offside. However, they managed to break the deadlock at the end of the first half with Calhanoglu’s precise, low shot. Relief for Klopp Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp praised his team for riding out recent criticism of their dip in form to register a comfortable win over Rangers.
Last year’s Champions League and English Premier League runners-up have had a faltering start to the season, losing their opening game in Europe to Napoli and sitting a relatively lowly ninth in the domestic competition. But they brushed aside their Scottish opponents at Anfield with a 2-0 victory that would have been a bigger margin had it not been for Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor’sheroics.
“I liked the game a lot. We got three points. That’s the important thing,” Klopp said, looking happy but more subdued than usual after a European win that left Liverpoolsecond in Group A on six points after three games.
“I can’t wait for the moment when I can read newspapers again. But the criticism is completely fine.“We are not over the moon about our situation,” he said of the reaction to Liverpool’s latest leaky performance in a 3-3 draw at home to Brighton at the weekend.
Bayern on song
Bayern Munich struck three times in the opening 21 minutes en route to a 5-0 demolition of Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday to stay top of Group C and set a record for the longest unbeaten run in group matches. Leroy Sane scored twice while Serge Gnabry, Sadio Mane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting were also on target, who have now gone 31 group matches in the competition without defeat.
