Inter Milan and Liverpool head into their meeting at San Siro needing a win for very different reasons. Inter must take all three points to stay inside the Champions League round-of-16 zone, while the English side are trying to keep a season marked by heavy defeats, frustrating draws and internal tension from spiraling into something irreversible. It’s a match that weighs heavily on both sides and, for its own reasons, has turned into a decisive moment in this sixth round.
Inter try to hold their place among the leaders
The loss to Atlético Madrid in the previous round kept Inter from creating separation in the standings, but it didn’t change their status among the top teams. With 12 points, they sit in fourth place overall and remain locked in a direct battle with Bayern, PSG and Real Madrid, all tied on points. The base information makes it clear Inter responded well after slipping in Madrid, stacking three straight wins, including big victories over Venezia (5–1) and Como (4–0).
At home, Inter carry the most meaningful number of this matchup: since 2022, they haven’t lost a single Champions League home game, running an 18-match unbeaten streak. For the Italians, this match is a way to keep full control of their fate, since a loss, depending on results elsewhere, could drop them out of the qualification group.
History also helps explain how this duel usually unfolds. In five of the last six Champions League meetings between Inter and Liverpool, one of the teams won without conceding. There’s no middle ground in this rivalry: whoever lands their punch takes everything.
Liverpool travel under pressure from results
Liverpool arrive at San Siro carrying a pile of problems. The 4–1 defeat to PSV in the previous round extended a run that matched a 96-year-old negative record: three home losses by at least three goals in the same season. It pushed the English club down to 13th place in the Champions League, with only nine points.
Recent results don’t help the picture either. Even with three games unbeaten since that heavy loss, the draws with Sunderland and Leeds, after beating West Ham, show how unstable the team remains. And the most tense moment didn’t even come on the field. After the 3–3 draw last weekend, conceding in the 96th minute, Mohamed Salah said the club abandoned him and that his relationship with Arne Slot is “nonexistent.”
Interestingly, Liverpool’s recent record away to Italian teams is strong, with five wins in their last six matches of that kind. But given the current instability, that stat does nothing to ease the urgency the club carries into Milan.