Firmino and Salah leave it late to fire Liverpool to win at Inter
Liverpool took a firm grip on their Champions League tie with Inter Milan as late goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah earned them a 2-0 victory at a deflated San Siro in their last-16 first leg on Wednesday.
Inter had the better of the first-half chances, but Juergen Klopp's side were resilient if not at their very best as they comfortably held the hosts at bay before inflicting two damaging blows on their opponents.
Having struggled to create many opportunities, Klopp rang the changes in the second half, and one of those substitutes came up trumps - Firmino flicking home from a corner to break the deadlock in the 75th minute.
With their resistance broken, the errors started to creep in for Inter and Salah pounced when they failed to clear a long ball into the box to put the game to bed seven minutes from time.
Even with the away goals rule no longer in force, the victory puts the 2019 Champions League winners in a commanding position ahead of the return leg on March 8 at Anfield.
"We expected to be under pressure because this is the Champions League," Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk told BT Sport. "One of the messages before the game was that we needed to be ready to suffer.
"It was a very good performance and clean sheet."
Liverpool have won all seven of their Champions League matches this season, extending what is their longest ever winning run in Europe's elite club competition.
Inter, back in the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in a decade, started brightly in front of a raucous crowd, unhindered by their reduced numbers as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez shot wide early on from distance, before Hakan Calhanoglu went even closer, firing against the crossbar when afforded too much time in the penalty area.
Liverpool had plenty of efforts at goal in the first half, but struggled to create that killer opening, with Sadio Mane's header from a free kick that went just over as close as they came.
There was not much improvement after the break from Liverpool, with Inter's final pass deserting them when it mattered most.
The hosts' wastefulness proved costly as Firmino struck to silence the frustrated San Siro, flicking home Andy Robertson's corner. It was his 11th goal as a substitute for Liverpool in all competitions and no player has scored more from the bench for the Reds under Klopp.
Salah, aided by a slight deflection, stroked home the second after Virgil van Dijk had knocked down Trent Alexander-Arnold's long ball to seal the win.
The Egyptian has scored in each of his last eight away appearances in the Champions League, the second-longest ever such run by a single player, after Cristiano Ronaldo between 2013 to 2015.
It was not vintage Liverpool, but they got the job done. This is this sixth time they have won the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie away from home and they have progressed from each of the previous five.
"This performance should give us plenty of confidence because we played a great game," Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. "We did not deserve to lose but that's football."
"I think we can be proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in Europe."
Coman rescues late draw for Bayern at Salzburg
Bayern Munich midfielder Kingsley Coman struck in the 90th minute to snatch a 1-1 draw at Salzburg in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg.
The Austrian side took the lead midway through the first half with a goal on the counterattack from Chukwubuike Adamu.
Adamu, 20, had come on in the 12th minute after starting striker Noah Okafor went off injured.
But Frenchman Coman, who struck the winning goal for Bayern in the 2020 Champions League final, ensured the six-times winners left with a draw when he appeared at the far post to meet a Thomas Mueller header and tuck the ball into the net from close range.
Bayern's Joshua Kimmich lamented a lack of intensity from his side before the interval.
"We didn't do quite enough in the first half, we weren't focused enough, we didn't win the second balls and that allowed Salzburg to have dangerous opportunities on the counter," he said.
"We controlled the game better in the second half and applied more pressure and got the draw in the end which for me is a good result."
Coman's equaliser meant Bayern have scored in 29 consecutive Champions League matches although Robert Lewandowski's record run of consecutive wins in the competition was halted.
The Polish striker had won his previous 22 Champions League games since Bayern's 3-1 loss against Liverpool in 2019, missing last season's quarter-final first-leg defeat to Paris St Germain through injury.
Bayern went into the tie as clear favourites after winning all six of their group-stage games but arrived in Austria reeling from a shock 4-2 thrashing by Bochum in the Bundesliga.
Julian Nagelsmann's side were kept at bay early on by a highly disciplined Salzburg, who qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time in their history under 33-year-old coach Matthias Jaissle in his debut season in charge.
The hosts struck the first blow with an explosive move on the break, starting with defender Oumar Solet dispossessing Bayern captain Mueller deep in his half and pumping a diagonal ball forward to Nicolas Capaldo on the right wing.
The Argentine raced across the pitch and worked the ball towards Adamu, who fired into the far corner after being fed by Brenden Aaronson.
Bayern struggled to create clear chances in the second half too but came closest to levelling when Leroy Sane smashed a low drive at goal which was parried by Salzburg goalkeeper Philipp Kohn, who then leapt up to swipe the loose ball from Serge Gnabry's feet.
Salzburg should have added a second goal to take with them to the second leg in Munich when, with 10 minutes remaining, Capaldo was denied by the feet of Sven Ulreich and Adamu then saw his shot cleared off the line by Benjamin Pavard.
The hosts then switched off at the crucial moment when Pavard hit a cross into the box and Mueller glanced it towards the far post, where Coman was waiting to steer it in.
