December 18, (THEWILL) –Â Liverpool was one of the teams Inter wanted to avoid in the Champions League knockout stages, according to the Serie A champions’ manager Simone Inzaghi.
The Nerazzurri have been drawn to face the six-time European winners in the competition’s final 16 round, with the first leg taking place at San Siro on February 16 and the return game three weeks later at Anfield.
As winners of Group B, the Reds were one of three teams to progress from the first phase with a perfect record. The others were Bayern Munich and Ajax. In their own Group D fixtures, Inter finished second behind Real Madrid, who defeated the reigning Serie A winners both at home and away.
“Liverpool were among the teams to avoid, along with Manchester City and Bayern Munich,” Inzaghi confessed about the draw.
“But now we are in the last 16, and we will play it knowing that we will meet a team that have won all six in the group and that won the Champions League two years ago.”
The Reds won 3-0 on aggregate in the 2007/2008 tournaments when the two teams previously played at this stage.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
