Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino struck late goals as Liverpool claimed a hard-fought 2-0 win at Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League Last 16 tie.
The Merseysiders were made to work hard as the Italian champions looked the more likely throughout an impressive second half showing until substitute Firmino nodded in his eighth goal of the campaign 15 minutes from the end.
Salah then pounced on Virgil van Dijk’s knockdown to seal the victory on 83 minutes to snare his 24th goal of the season and extend his club record of notching in eight successive European away games.
The visitors were lively in attack in an open first half with Sadio Mane twice going close with a header and an acrobatic volley. However, it was Inter who had the best chance to break the deadlock when Hakan Calhanoglu hit the crossbar from a narrow angle on 16 minutes.
The hosts were dominant following the break with Lautaro Martínez a whisker away from converting the busy Ivan Perisic’s cross.
But they were made to pay for failing to make the most of their strong spell when the visitors grabbed a quick double to take control heading into the second leg on March 8.
Liverpool will now turn their attention back to the Premier League and a home match with Norwich on Saturday while Inter host Sassuolo in Serie A on Sunday.
Eurosport