Neil Atkinson’s post-match review for The Anfield Wrap after Inter Milan 0 Liverpool 1 in the 2025-2026 Champions League at the San Siro…
BETTER SIDE.
Better side is my favourite shout. It’s my favourite moment. That moment when you just get to go “better side, Liverpool” and know it is true.
These have got to two European Cup finals in the last three seasons. Last season in the Swiss System they only conceded one goal. Failed to win only twice.
Better side. Better side, Liverpool.
These know what they are about in every phase of the game. Marcus Thuram is a phenomenal footballer. Nicolo Barella is joy to behold. Alessandro Bastoni – a man every side in Europe would love to have.
Better side, Liverpool.
This is all you can ask for. All you can demand. And away to your pot one team in Europe? Better side?
Yes. Better side.
Walk around Curtis Jones. He makes the city centre proud with everything he does at the moment. He is the most marvellous footballer and tempo setter. He asks for it, shifts, moves it, looks after it, moves it on, asks for it again. Over and over Curtis Jones just wants the ball, demands the ball, gets the ball and does the right thing. Over and over.
This is so, so, so hard. You can’t just do this from nowhere. The footballer needs the confidence and the quality and the thing about Jones at his best is that he isn’t short of either and right now he is at his best.
I adore him and will always adore him. All I want from a Liverpudlian is quality and confidence. I am lucky to be surrounded by them every day and when I watch Jones I am just reminded of the best of us.
The manager goes with four midfielders. It’s all very Bob Paisley. You control the middle of the park, you control everything. Repeatedly I will say this: There is little new in this game of ours. Unai Emery is getting results with a narrow four and Liverpool do the same today. Souness, McDermott, Case, Kennedy. Today Ryan Gravenberch is far more Graeme Souness than he could probably ever guess at.
Nothing new. Including: Better side, Liverpool.
Hugo Ekitike swaggers you know. One of ours as well. Loves the ball, loves the moment. Looks at Inter Milan and decides early he will be better over and over. He is the man the manager nominates as having the burden today. He’s getting the 90, he needs to run and run. But his touch and elasticity is so special.
When called upon, the goalkeeper is very presentable. He is straight of spine as is both captain and vice captain. Liverpool are rock solid.
I adored the subs. Conor Bradley comes on as the absolute business and the ultimate outlet. What I liked was how much he fancied it against their wing-back. Wanted him and knew he’d win his battle.
But Florian Wirtz. It was footballing gravity. The match suddenly was in the palm of his hand. The oddest thing watching Wirtz is a feeling I have had far too often in my life. That, there, is the best player on the pitch. I have played football badly at terrible levels and have known who the best player was and know to get it to the best player. I am never the best player. The oddest thing is you are now watching football and Wirtz is the best player. Clearly the best player. The one who is the pitch.
He wins the penalty but that doesn’t matter in one way. What matters is that Liverpool have a footballer nobody else on the planet can live with in the fullness of time and few can live with now. My view is this: He is a genius. He could be the best one.
Dominik Szoboszlai fires home the penalty. You love him. I love him. I never for a second thought he would miss. Tonight he leads everything that is good for Liverpool, and he does lead. It is leadership. The front half of the pitch belongs to him. He leads the better side.
Better side. Arne Slot. Arne Slot’s better side. Recently in some quarters there has been some lax notion the Liverpool manager is a divvy who is where he is through luck. That is bullshit. The Liverpool manager is the very best in the world in his job and we get to see some of that tonight. Not all and this doesn’t mean he has been perfect in his role.
But what he is, how he should be thought of, is one of us and as one of our best.
I’m all over Arne Slot’s better side. It will do for me. Into these Liverpool. These? You name them. Into them.
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