Marotta: ‘Inter gained valuable experience, Liverpool not in crisis’

Inter President Beppe Marotta notes the importance of the ‘experience’ gained since last facing Liverpool in the Champions League, and doesn’t believe Arne Slot’s side is in crisis.

It kicks off at San Siro at 20.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Atalanta vs. Chelsea on the Liveblog.

The Nerazzurri are three points higher up the Champions League table going into this showdown at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

They won their first four games in the tournament before falling to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat away to Atletico Madrid.

“We would like to repeat the performance seen on Saturday, which will be tough, because the opponents are very strong,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia, referring to a 4-0 win over Como

“Despite some suggesting they are in crisis, let us not forget Liverpool are the reigning Premier League winners, the club invested €500m in the transfer market, so the squad is packed with champions who are very tough to face.”

Liverpool froze out Mohamed Salah due to his damning statements about coach Arne Slot, while Federico Chiesa has a stomach bug.

Cody Gakpo, Wataru Endo, Giovanni Leoni and Jeremie Frimpong are also out of action, but surprisingly Florian Wirtz has been left on the bench.

Marotta was asked if Liverpool players could be given extra motivation by the Salah controversy?

“I don’t want to get into the situation, as it seems a little strange, but the fact that Liverpool would leave such an important player behind is a big deal. I don’t know if the situation will fire them up, this is a club that won the Champions League six times, it will go into this highly motivated regardless.”

The last time Inter played Liverpool was in the Round of 16 during the early days of Simone Inzaghi’s reign in March 2022, but since then they have surged up the levels of Champions League pedigree, reaching two Finals in three years.

“We gained a lot of experience, which is important in this competition. Many of the players tonight were there against Liverpool back then. They have learned the difference between Serie A and the Champions League, those things you need to play against a prestigious club like Liverpool, regardless of their current form,” added Marotta.

“Aside from the team that steps onto the pitch, I have people around me behind the scenes who are just as important. The club is strong and does its duty, just as the players do, and our owners delegated us to impose those rules. Ours is a model that works.”