| Inter lost 2-0 at Anfield to late Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard goals, but played with 10 men for an hour after Marco Materazzi's extremely harsh dismissal. The Nerazzurri were unbeaten in all competition for five months and will need a big win to progress. Two of the most 'international' teams in the competition faced off, as Inter had just one Italian player in the starting XI and Liverpool had two homegrown faces. The last time these sides met was the European Cup semi-final, when the Nerazzurri won 4-3 on aggregate and went on to lift the trophy. Luis Figo and Patrick Vieira were only fit for spots on the bench and Cesar Aparecido suspended, so Cristian Chivu took a midfield role, while the pressure was on Rafa Benitez after falling behind in the Premier League and a humiliating FA Cup exit to Barnsley last week. Steven Gerrard was given an unusual wide midfield position. Chivu went into the book within four minutes for tripping Gerrard outside the box and Fabio Aurelio curled the free kick over. Liverpool had a very aggressive start and Julio Cesar tipped a Dirk Kuyt header over the bar. Former Everton defender Marco Materazzi was also booked after he was dispossessed by Fernando Torres, but it seemed a harsh decision with minimal contact. Inter's first foray forward was on 17 minutes with Pepe Reina rushing to pluck Zlatan Ibrahimovic's assist off the head of Julio Cruz. Gerrard drilled off target from distance, but it was a more even game and Ivan Cordoba cleaned up several dangerous opportunities. However, on the half-hour mark there was controversy as Materazzi received his second booking for placing a hand on Torres' shoulder. The decisions were, to say the least, extremely harsh and Inter - as has happened so many times this season - were reduced to 10 men in the first half. Gerrard rolled a ball across the face of goal to leave Julio Cesa stranded, but Douglas Maicon was ready to clean up at the back post as the last line of defence. Moments later the goalkeeper comfortably plucked a Kuyt volley out of the air. The second half started well for Inter, as there were appeals for a Sami Hyypia handling offence and Esteban Cambiasso fired over from distance. At the other end Chivu cleared a dangerous Steve Finnan cross from six yards. Roberto Mancini introduced Vieira for striker Julio Cruz, who had been playing in a midfield role to cover, so Chivu remained in central defence. Finnan was giving Dejan Stankovic all sorts of problems down the right channel. The first real shot on target came almost by accident. Vieira's pass ricocheted off a Liverpool shinpad into the path of Torres, who sprinted forward and saw his angled drive fingertipped round the post by Julio Cesar at full stretch. From the resulting corner, Hyypia nodded over. On the hour mark Liverpool had penalty appeals for Vieira's handling offence, but the referee only awarded a corner as he was protecting his face from Gerrard's flick at point-blank range. Torres spun round for a shot past the post, but 10-man Inter had a sustained period of attack and Cambiasso was flagged offside as he ran on to Ibrahimovic's assist. Jermaine Pennant replaced Ryan Babel to give more pace to Liverpool, but Vieira flashed a long-range shot wide. Cordoba foolishly nodded his clearance straight at Crouch, who snatched at the volley off target. The Colombian fell awkwardly on his right knee in that move and was stretchered off, making way for Nicolas Burdisso. Gerrard had a strike deflected out for a corner, but Crouch had two consecutive attempts closed down from seven yards, Maxwell getting the final block in. Javier Mascherano did well to intercept Vieira's counter-attack to the disappointing Ibrahimovic. Inter had trouble clearing their lines and Liverpool finally broke the deadlock with a stroke of luck. The ball fell to Kuyt and his volley was deflected over Julio Cesar by Maicon. There was nothing lucky about the second, as Liverpool's tails were up and they made the most of the extra man. In the final minute Gerrard drilled an angled drive from the edge of the box past a sea of legs and into the bottom far corner.
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