Klopp flexes Liverpool’s strength in depth to devour ageing Inter

Jürgen Klopp had seen enough. With almost an hour played at San Siro, Internazionale cutting his team to ribbons and the home crowd buoyant, the Liverpool manager retreated to his bench in dim spirits. There were a few seconds of discussion with his coaches. Training tops were peeled off, tactical instructions issued, last-minute warm-ups executed. And then, the flourish: a triple substitution in the 59th minute.

Off came Sadio Mané, Fabinho and Harvey Elliott. Diogo Jota had already gone off injured at half‑time. It was Klopp’s inimitable way of telling his players that he wasn’t angry, just disappointed.

Jordan Henderson bounded on to the pitch clapping furiously, captain’s armband stretched over his biceps, with all the coiled energy of the five-a-side player who’s come straight from the office and had to run the last half-mile from the bus stop. Luis Díaz trotted on and immediately looked threatening. Naby Keïta grappled, pressed, plugged gaps. In the space of a few minutes Klopp had entirely transformed the feel of his Liverpool side: more grizzled, more skittish.

The simple conclusion to draw would be that Klopp’s substitutions won a game that was drifting away from Liverpool. In reality, it was a little more subtle than that. The bold and brave Inter continued to create plenty of problems for a good while afterwards. Roberto Firmino’s opening goal on 75 minutes – a classic near-post flicked header – might just as easily have been scored by Jota as well. And for all the changes in midfield and attack, it was really in defence – where Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté were superb – that this game was won and lost.

The first 70 minutes had been almost unbearably taut, a thrilling arm-wrestle between two teams with