Liverpool beat Inter 2-0 in ECL first leg

Two shots on target. Two goals. Both from Liverpool.

After 75 minutes of caution - even tedium - the quality and pressure from six-time European champion Liverpool eventually led to a 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday night.

Roberto Firmino drifted in near the far post to glance in a header from Andy Robertson.

A set piece also produced the second goal in the 83rd minute after Virgil van Dijk nodded down from Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick and Mohamed Salah was primed unmarked centrally to shoot low into the net.

The late goals give Liverpool a crucial cushion to take back to Anfield for the second leg next month.

Defending Serie A champions Inter Milan didn't manage a single shot on target in the 90 minutes and now face missing out on a first quarter-final appearance since 2011 in European football's elite competition.

For Lverpool Diogo Jota was replaced at half-time and manager Jurgen Klopp said: "We scored two wonderful goals and I'm really happy with everything, apart from Diogo had to go off with something around the ankle. He could have played on, but we will see how he is.

"It was an incredible physical game and we had to find a way. In a game like this you have to keep the ball longer and it didn't happen often enough.

"We didn't have a brilliant day but we had a good enough day to be a deserved winner."

The night's other first leg produced a far tighter result with Bayern Munich needing a goal from Kingsley Coman in the 90th minute to recover a 1-1 draw at Salzburg.

Coman, who scored Bayern's winner in the 2020 final, equalised to prevent the Bavarian powerhouse from slumping to their second consecutive defeat after their 4-2 loss to promoted Bochum in the Bundesliga