Fernando Torres strikes again

Inter Milan 0-1 Liverpool

IT may have been Milan, but there was to be no comeback last night. Merely a rubber-stamping of the very special talent Liverpool possess in attack.

Fernando Torres continued his rich goalscoring form to further etch his name into Anfield folklore and fire Rafael Benitez’s side into the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Spaniard’s eighth goal in his last five games earned Liverpool a famous victory in the San Siro against Inter Milan in their first knockout round second leg.

But it wasn’t just ‘El Nino’ who went down a storm against the Italian champions.

From a magnificent rearguard action in which Sami Hyypia and Fabio Aurelio excelled to a superb midfield demonstration by the outstanding Javier Mascherano, this was another glorious European night for Liverpool.

And, having completed the full set of four Premier League teams in Friday’s draw, nobody will want to be paired with Benitez’s men in this form.

After securing a sixth straight win in all competitions, a third European Cup final in four seasons is now a distinct possibility.

With Torres leading the line, no wonder. The 23-year-old now was 26 goals in 35 games and justifies with each passing week his club record outlay to snare him from Atletico Madrid last summer.

His clinical 64th-minute finish effectively settled the contest after Liverpool had withstood an intense period of pressure from the home team.

As in the first game at Anfield three weeks ago, when two goals in the last five minutes put Liverpool in a strong position, Benitez’s men capitalised on Inter being reduced to 10 men after Nicolas Burdisso was dismissed shortly after the interval after being shown two yellow cards.

But, in truth, Liverpool didn’t require that numerical advantage to progress as Benitez again proved his tactical nous on the European stage.

They had successfully defended a first-leg lead with a goalless draw at Juventus on their last visit to Italy three years ago en route to lifting the trophy in Istanbul.

Last night demanded more of the same and Liverpool’s defenders were not found wanting. One moment of madness from Martin Skrtel aside, their obdurate display continually frustrated their hosts.

And when the defence was breached, Inter were either thwarted by Pepe Reina or their failure to show the ruthlessness of Torres.

Mascherano, meanwhile, patrolled the midfield with trademark menace to completely overshadow the likes of Patrick Vieira, Javier Zanetti and compatriot Esteban Cambiasso in the Inter midfield.

Desperate to guard against complacency, history had offered another warning to Liverpool before the game. While they had only once before surrendered a two-goal first-leg advantage in Europe, it came in their infamous European Cup semi-final against Inter in 1965.

And the Italians boasted a remarkable record of having successfully overturned a 2-0 deficit in the second game five times out of 10 in European competition.

The absence of Xabi Alonso, whose girlfriend gave birth to a baby boy during the early hours of yesterday morning, allowed Lucas Leiva to step back into central midfield alongside Mascherano.

Skrtel, making his Champions League debut, was Liverpool’s only change from the first leg with Jamie Carragher switching to right-back, a tactical switch that paid dividends against a narrow Inter attack.

That said, Liverpool suffered during a nervy opening as Inter fed off the backing of a vociferous home support to press the visitors back during the first half.

Only nine minutes had gone when Pepe Reina was forced to dive low to his right to turn behind a Julio Cruz shot from 20 yards.

Cruz was Inter’s main threat during the first half, and should have done better on the half-hour when, after exchanging a one-two with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and played onside by Fabio Aurelio, the striker ignored the obvious pass across to an unmarked Dejan Stankovic and pulled his shot across the face of goal.

He came even closer two minutes from the break. A burst down the right by Maicon took him beyond Fabio Aurelio to drive in a low cross, but Reina was alert to smother Cruz’s improvised backheel at the near post.

With Marco Materazzi suspended following his sending-off in the first leg and Ivan Cordoba injured in the same game, Inter were grateful for the return to fitness of Cristian Chivu, who partnered Rivas Lopez at centre-back.

Nevertheless, it was a makeshift defence and gave Liverpool, despite some infuriatingly poor possession, plenty of encouragement.

None more so than in the 28th minute when Esteban Cambiasso gifted the ball inside his own area to Torres. The Liverpool striker jinked past Rivas Lopez but saw his near-post effort saved by Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar with Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel anticipating a square pass.

Kuyt dragged a shot wide soon after but the Dutchman was wasteful when Maicon’s ridiculous crossfield ball dropped straight to his feet, only for an angled drive to strike Rivas Lopez and ricochet back off the Liverpool man for a goal kick.

Inter started the second half with the same high intensity, but their task was made even greater five minutes after the interval when Burdisso, booked earlier for a lunge at Kuyt, was handed a second yellow and subsequent red for catching Lucas.

Liverpool, though, gave Inter some hope two minutes later when Skrtel inexplicably played Ibrahimovic through on goal and was relieved to see the Swede shoot narrowly wide with just Reina to beat.

With that went Inter’s opportunity. Ibrahimovic had missed a sitter when playing for Juventus against Liverpool and his blunder last night ensured he lived down to his reputation as one of the most overrated players in the history of football.

The visitors duly capitalised and, after Cesar palmed over a curling Gerrard free-kick on the hour, Torres put Inter out of their misery.

Aurelio won possession and sprinted down the right before crossing in to the Spaniard who took a touch, turned away from Chivu and rattled a brilliant shot past Cesar.

It left Inter needing to score four goals inside 26 minutes, but not even the arrival of Pele from the bench could save Mancini’s side.

Ibrahimovic cemented his reputation by blasting over when put through late on, but by then it didn’t matter.

The only comeback the home fans could celebrate was that of Benitez’s side against their bitter city rivals Milan three years ago. “Whatever happens, Istanbul 25 May ’05, thanks Liverpool” read the banner.

But, unlike the banners in the away end, it won’t get another airing this season.

Inter Milan: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Burdisso, Rivas, Chivu, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Stankovic (Jimenez 84), Vieira (Pele 76), Ibrahimovic (Suazo 80), Cruz.
Subs Not Used: Toldo, Figo, Crespo, Maniche.

Sent Off: Burdisso (50).

Booked: Burdisso, Rivas, Stankovic, Chivu.

Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Hyypia, Aurelio, Babel (Benayoun 61), Mascherano (Pennant 87), Gerrard, Lucas, Kuyt (Riise 81), Torres.
Subs Not Used: Itandje, Voronin, Crouch, Arbeloa.

Booked: Babel, Gerrard, Aurelio, Benayoun.

Goals: Torres 64.

Att: 80,000

Ref: Tom Ovrebo (Norway).

BBC Sport man of the match: Liverpool's Fernando Torres