Liverpool's win over Inter a reminder of the Premier League's power - The Warm-Up
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Updated 17/02/2022 at 10:28 GMT
Inter were pretty good, Liverpool unusually quiet, and yet the Premier League side won anyway. That's modern football for you. That's the Premier League. Elsewhere, Bayern were given an almighty scare by an energy drink, and Antonio Conte has realised just what it means to be the manager of Tottenham.
'It's half-time, 2-0 is tricky' - Klopp cautious despite first-leg win at Inter
THURSDAY'S BIG STORIES
Statement Of Intent
First of all, that was a lot of fun. Liverpool, favourites according to most and inevitable crushing victors according to BT Sport's pre-game show, were kept goalless for 75 minutes. And it was a stressful equilibrium, as Inter pushed and poked and prodded and almost, almost, managed a shot on target.
But when the first eleven isn't getting things done, there's always the bench. On came Jordan Henderson to recapture the midfield, on came Roberto Firmino to score the opener. On came Luis Díaz, to irritate Tottenham fans and to let us all know that yes, it seems Liverpool's scouts and analysts have done it again.
With Edin Džeko looking every one of his 274 years — we're not looking it up, we're pretty sure that's right — and Lautaro Martínez unable to get himself running at Liverpool's defenders, Inter's industry remained toothless. It won't be much comfort this morning, but Simone Inzaghi knew. He knew from the moment the draw was made.
But as fun as it was, there was a strange vibe about proceedings, and it took the Warm-Up a while to work out what it was. We twigged about the time Liverpool scored their second, as we thought "Ah well. They gave it a go. It's Liverpool. What are you going to do?" Then we realised that this is Inter — the actual champions of actual Serie A in the actual knockouts of the actual Champions League — and there we were, nodding and smiling and dishing out the virtual headpats as though they were some mid-table Premier League team that had tried their best. That had managed, against all the odds, to only get beaten comfortably.
This is an uncomfortable dynamic. Let's say it's true that the biggest difference was Inter's lack of a top-class line-leading attacker. They had one in Romelu Lukaku: they were able to pick him up because a member of the Premier League elite couldn't get him firing, and as soon as he started looking great again, a member of the Premier League elite bought him for an unarguable amount of money. Inter replaced him with Džeko, a guy the Premier League elite was done with in 2015. Off the bench last night came Alexis Sánchez, a guy the Premier League elite was done with in 2019.
Power, in football, is a question of depth. Or perhaps, to flip that around, depth is an expression of power: the power to get top-class players, the power to keep them, the power to keep them in multiples. As it stands, Inter — Inter! actual Inter! — get to keep their great players at the Premier League's pleasure, and have to compensate for their departure with the Premier League's offcasts.
The Milan clubs occupy positions one and two in the Serie A table, and are in the middle of a genuinely compelling title race. Liverpool have played them three times this season, and are winning by an aggregate of 7-3, with a game at Anfield to come. There's a pecking order, and while nothing lasts forever, you suspect it'll be a while before the champions of Italy and the champions of England — or even the team that finished third last season and are second this season — meet on a level playing field.
That Goal Does Not Count Double
While everybody was watching Inter against Liverpool reach its inevitable conclusion, the other game of the evening — the one that couldn't possibly produce any kind of shock — came this close to producing one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history. But in the end, plucky community club Bayern Munich pinched a late equaliser against corporate behemoths Red Bull Salzburg. An away goal, too, which—
Hang on.
It's going to take some getting used to, this lack of an away goal rule. It's a question of habit, almost one of programming. Goals scored by the away team still feel like "away goals": they come with a little extra surge of importance and significance. Perhaps they will for a while.
And what cultural touchstones we have lost! Never again will we able to lean over and say, confidently, "In a funny way, that doesn't really change their task for the evening." All the tasks are the same now; there is no game within the game. Score more goals than the other lot. It's simpler, of course, and perhaps it's a better reflection of the point of the sport. But as it stands, Salzburg can't go to Munich and progress with a 6-6 draw, and that seems a bit of a shame.
They'll just have to get on and win the thing. Shouldn't be too difficult. Salzburg were sharper, quicker, more energetic… almost as if they had a well-known energy drink coursing through their veins. Even if they can't upset the odds completely, they have provided — along with Bochum at the weekend — more evidence that this new version of Bayern are there to be got at. And that prospect is more exciting than any silly away goals rule, right? Right?
We See The Problem Here
Trouble in paradise. Or at least, in north London. Antonio Conte has come through January and out the other side and he is not a happy Hotspur.
We lost four players in January. Four important players for Tottenham, and we brought in only two. So even just in terms of numbers, rather than reinforce the squad, we on paper weakened it. Bentancur and Kulusevski are ideal prospects for Tottenham, because Tottenham are seeking young players they can develop and grow, not players who are ready.
Hang on, that sounds fine. Get the future sorted, the present will catch up eventually. Good solid club-building principles. And— oh hang on, there's more.
That is the issue. This is the vision and the philosophy of the club. It is inevitable that if you want to grow quicker and if you want to be competitive more rapidly, you need players with a lot of experience, because they also raise the experience level of the overall team. But I repeat, I have realised now that this is the vision of the club.
It's easy to see what's happened here. Conte, bless him, has applied for the Tottenham manager's job and now — oh dear! — has found himself managing Tottenham! Must have been an unpleasant shock to the system. Maybe he was distracted by the perks of the gig: come and live in London! come and work in a shiny new stadium! come and hang out with Son Heung-min! And all of a sudden, it turns out to dare is to do… eventually.
It's going to be very interesting to see what happens from here. Logic suggests that Conte, a high-class short-termist, will be departing north London in short order and a cloud of acrimony. But maybe there's another future here: one where Conte realises he's already won everything, and decides to have a crack at the kind of building project that Tottenham are set up for. Where he sticks it out, season on season, slowly iterating and refining his team closer and closer to something like greatness. And then, perhaps, after four or five seasons… Spurs sell his three best players to Manchester City, Juventus and Real Madrid, then fail to spend any of the money, and he resigns in a huff. Yeah, it's doomed.
IN OTHER NEWS
As we get ready to enjoy the Europa League once again, our thanks to the tournament's official account for reminding us of this. Now, by definition there is no such thing as a bad hat-trick: scoring a goal is good, so scoring three of them is three good. But there is definitely a worst hat-trick, and it might well be this one. At least the penalty's a decent hit.
RETRO CORNER
If you take the numbers and the trophies in isolation, then it seems a wonderful career. 177 goals in just over 400 games, plus 48 caps and 27 goals for Brazil. League titles in Brazil and in Italy and a Copa América winners medal. But this was Adriano. And there was a time when it seemed that Adriano could do anything and, as a result, would go on to do everything. And he didn't. Not quite.
Still, we'll always have PES 6. And some of those 177 goals were pretty decent. Happy birthday to the Emperor.
HAT TIP
Did you know there are two teams in Salzburg? There's Red Bull, who used to be Austria Salzburg until the fizzy pop merchants got involved, and then there's Austria Salzburg, a phoenix club that was founded after the fizzy pop merchants made an unwise gesture involving a pair of socks. The i's Daniel Storey has been to Austria to check out this alternative to big brand hegemony.
[Red Bull's] new badge was unpopular and the attempts to alter history to change the club’s official formation date to 2005 deliberately inflammatory, but the change of the club’s kit colour to red, white and blue (matching Red Bull’s branding) was the final straw. When supporters protested, the new owners told them that the goalkeeper’s socks could retain the old colours. It was a slap in the face for a fanbase that had tried to build bridges.
COMING UP
It's the Europa League and Conference playoffs! Which means it's time to watch Barcelona try to come to terms with their new surroundings, like a dispossessed aristocrat trying to work out how to do their own washing. Napoli will be making them welcome and trying to ruin their evening.
We've also got Borussia Dortmund against Rangers, Zenit against Real Betis, Celtic against Bodø/Glimt and Leicester against Randers. And while you're waiting there's the Winter Olympics, all over discovery+.
Andi Thomas will be here tomorrow with all the news from the Europa, unless it's rubbish, in which case he'll do something about the curling.
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