What happened to the Liverpool XI that beat "the best team in Europe" at the San Siro

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03/04/2023
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European royalty will collide at the palatial San Siro on Wednesday night as Liverpool and Inter Milan square off in the Champions League round of 16.

It marks the first time the two continental giants have played each other since they met at this stage of the competition 14 years ago.

Having won the first leg at Anfield 2-0 thanks to late goals from Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard, the Reds arrived in Lombardy for a second encounter against Roberto Mancini's reigning Serie A champions.

While Marco Materazzi was unavailable having received a contentious red card in the first leg, Inter still boasted a talent-laden starting XI including Maicon in defence, Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic and Javier Zanetti in midfield and Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front, with Luis Figo, Patrick Vieira and Hernan Crespo among those on the substitutes' bench.

Another dubious sending off took centre stage in the return leg as Nicolas Burdisso was shown a second yellow shortly after the interval for a challenge on Lucas Leiva.

Inter had kept Pepe Reina busy in the Liverpool goal up to that point and Ibrahimovic missed a golden opportunity minutes after Burdisso's dismissal, but the Italian club were made to rue their wastefulness as Fernando Torres struck to put the visitors 3-0 up on aggregate.

After the match, Jamie Carragher declared Liverpool - who were looking to reach their third Champions League final in four years - had "beaten possibly the best team in Europe".

Rafa Benitez's side were eventually eliminated by Chelsea in the semi-finals, but their victory at San Siro remains one of the many famous nights they have enjoyed on the grandest stage of them all.

Here is the Liverpool XI which played that day - and what happened to each of them.

An Anfield favourite thanks to his 396 appearances and many years of service, back-to-back clean sheets against Inter are among the Spaniard's many achievements as a Liverpool player.

He was made to work for them, producing two fine stops to deny Julio Ricardo Cruz in the second leg to add to his brilliant showing at Anfield.

Having won the FA Cup in 2006 and League Cup six years later, Reina joined Napoli on loan for the 2013/14 season before sealing a permanent switch to Bayern Munich.

The 39-year-old currently plies his trade with Lazio and remains the club's first-choice goalkeeper.

Although the Englishman would write himself into Liverpool folklore with his performances at centre-back, he lined up on the right of defence for the second leg with Inter ahead of Alvaro Arbeloa.

Carragher spent his entire 17-season senior career with the Reds and helped them lift the Champions League in 2005 with an astonishing comeback against AC Milan.

He made a total of 737 appearances before retiring in 2013 and is now a key pundit for Sky Sports' coverage of the Premier League.

Having joined from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2008, Skrtel's first taste of Champions League action came against Inter.

The combative central defender proved why Liverpool paid £6.5million to sign him mid-season with his displays in the last 16, and would go on to establish himself as a mainstay at the back for many years.

Skrtel eventually departed for Fenerbahce in 2016 having almost lifted the Premier League title two years earlier, and he has since returned to his native Slovakia to represent Spartak Trnava.

Another of the heroes of Istanbul, the towering Finn was coming to the end of his 10-year spell with Liverpool by the time they were drawn against Inter.

Indeed, the 2007/08 season was Hyypia's last playing Champions League football as he was left out of the Reds' squad for the competition during the next campaign due to new UEFA rules regarding homegrown players.

The defender departed for Bayer Leverkusen in 2009 and spent two seasons with the German club before becoming their manager. He later spent brief spells in charge of Brighton and FC Zurich.

Who will progress to this season's Champions League quarter-finals: Liverpool or Inter Milan? Give your verdict in the comments!

What happened to the Liverpool XI that beat

A two-time La Liga winner with Valencia, Aurelio never replicated his best form at Anfield and struggled with injuries throughout his six years with Liverpool.

But he certainly played his part in the second leg against Inter by finding Torres in the box to assist the Spaniard's winner.

The Brazilian returned to his homeland to join Gremio on a free transfer in 2012 and retired two years later having suffered a torn cruciate ligament.

One of the finest defensive midfielders to grace the Liverpool teamsheet in the 21st century, the Argentine spent three-and-a-half excellent years on Merseyside.

Mascherano had a brilliant understanding with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, and it was no surprise when Barcelona came calling in 2010.

He won a glut of trophies while on the Blaugrana payroll, featuring mainly as a centre-back following an inspired tactical change by Pep Guardiola.

Mascherano retired in November 2020 following a handful of appearances for Estudiantes.

Another popular figure among the Anfield faithful, Lucas was a reliable stalwart at the base of midfield for a decade.

The last-16 encounter with Inter came during the Brazilian's first season with the club following a £5million transfer from Gremio.

Lucas made a total of 346 appearances for Liverpool before a 2017 move to Lazio, where he continues to feature prominently alongside Reina.

A product of the world-renowned Ajax academy, the Dutchman also joined Liverpool in the summer of 2007, for a fee in the region of £12million.

Babel signed a five-year contract but left for Hoffenheim just three-and-a-half years later after a mixed spell on the wing for the Reds.

The 35-year-old is still playing top-flight football to this day but has only managed one goal in 28 appearances for Turkish giants Galatasaray this season.

A member of the starting XI who needs no introduction, Gerrard is a bona fide Liverpool legend and arguably the greatest player in the club's history.

The captain popped up with an important goal to put the Reds in control in the first leg and led his side to the quarter-finals on a historic night at San Siro.

Gerrard made 710 appearances for his boyhood side before joining LA Galaxy in 2015. The 41-year-old subsequently returned to Liverpool as an academy coach before embarking on a senior managerial career with Rangers and now Aston Villa.

Tireless in work rate and with a knack for popping up with an important goal, Kuyt was also on the scoresheet in the first leg and kept his spot in the line-up for the second.

The popular Dutchman was ever-available throughout his six years with Liverpool and scored 71 goals in 286 appearances for the club before departing for Fenerbahce in 2012.

He later completed a fairytale return to Feyenoord to win the Eredivise with a final-day hat-trick before retiring from football in 2017.

Remembered fondly for his electric stint leading the line for Liverpool - and not so fondly for his transfer to Chelsea - Torres was the man to clinch victory at San Siro.

The Spaniard received the ball with one touch and spun on the spot before lashing past Cesar at his near post to give the visitors an unassailable 3-0 aggregate lead.

It was one of the many great goals he would score in his debut Liverpool season, but many fans believe he tarnished his Anfield legacy with his £50million departure for Stamford Bridge in January 2011.

Torres would never hit the dizzying heights he reached with the Reds during his subsequent spells with Chelsea, Atletico Madrid or AC Milan, and retired in 2019 after one year with Japanese side Sagan Tosu.