KEY POINTS

  • Liverpool defeated Inter Milan 2-0 at San Siro
  • Jota was substituted at the half-time break
  • Liverpool have now won seven straight games in UCL this season

Jurgen Klopp gave an injury update on Diogo Jota after Liverpool FC's 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah's strikes meant Liverpool established a fine advantage in the first leg of their Round of 16 ties. It was also the Reds' seventh straight win in the competition in the underway campaign.

Firmino came off the bench soon after the half-time break as Klopp was forced to substitute Jota, who had developed a swollen ankle.

"I'm really happy with everything, apart from that Diogo had to go off with something around the ankle ligament. We will see, we don't know exactly. He could have played on, maybe that's a good sign, but at half-time, the ankle was swollen anyway so we knew we had to change," Klopp said in a post-match interview, according to Sky Sports.

Even in their previous Premier League outing, Jota did not feature in the Reds' starting XI due to a dead leg.

Diogo Jota of Liverpool
Diogo Jota of Liverpool in action during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool at American Express Community Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Brighton, England. Getty Images/Mike Hewitt

Though Liverpool and Inter Milan played with a lot of intensity at San Siro on Wednesday, Firmino's opening goal in the 75th minute was the first shot on target, with Salah's follow-up the second and last of the game.

"Bobby needed time to get into the game because he got the balls in the most difficult area. After he scored the goal, you could see the confidence back all of a sudden, the ball was our friend again and we won the game," added Klopp in the same interview.

Harvey Elliot creates history

Meanwhile, the game was special for Liverpool's teenage sensation Harvey Elliot. After missing the entire Champions League group stage this season due to an ankle fracture, Elliot entered history books when he started for the Reds at San Siro.

At 18 years and 318 days, Elliot became the youngest player to start a European Cup/Champions League (excluding qualifiers) for Liverpool, beating the previous record (18 years and 354 days) held by teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, according to Opta Joe.

"When you are 18 years old and play against one of the most experienced teams in world football and they are Italian on top of that, for an offensive player it's not a walk in the park. It was a very, very important game for him and very helpful for us as well," Klopp was quoted by Liverpool's official website as saying in the post-match conference.

The return tie of Round of 16 fixture between Inter Milan and Liverpool is scheduled to take place on March 8 at Anfield.

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