UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16, SECOND LEG:A few minutes before kick-off Internazionale's most frenzied supporters turned the stadium into a kaleidoscope of colour by thrusting thousands of yellow, blue and black cards to the skies to signify their allegiance to the Nerazzurri. One banner offered a note of appreciation to Liverpool for defeating Milan in the final three years ago - "Whatever happens, thank you Liverpool" - but it soon disappeared and any passing sense of hospitality was short-lived.
Another banner proclaimed "1965" in reference to Internazionale's notorious semi-final triumph over Bill Shankly's team. Flares were lit on the curva nord and turned on a couple of Liverpool flags that, it is fair to presume, had been taken as souvenirs from unsuspecting Scousers.
The names of the visiting players flashed up on the giant screen and the volume went up, the kind of ear-splitting whistles that left you feeling like you had been standing by the speakers at an Iron Maiden concert.
It was the kind of night, in other words, when the Premier League's fourth-placed team required a performance that smacked of defiance and bristling ambition. Even when it is empty, San Siro is a formidable stage. Under floodlights, with a capacity crowd shoehorned into the steep stands, it becomes a place of shrieking, fire-cracking hysteria, and it was quickly apparent why Roberto Mancini had spoken before this match, almost Liverpool-esque, of the crowd inspiring the team to reach the quarter-finals for the fourth time in six seasons.
Mancini is not the first manager to take this "12th man" line, and nor will he be the last. Yet if there was one team from England that you would not have expected to wilt, it was the side assembled by Rafael Benitez. It needs a special type of footballer to handle this sort of occasion, the kind of man who will stand in line through the Champions League anthem, straighten his back, put on his best seen-it-all-before expression and feel no trepidation, only a sense of belonging.
It needs men of substance and, for all of Liverpool's shortcomings in the domestic competitions, nobody could question that this is an extraordinarily obdurate side when it comes to European football's premier club competition.
And so we saw Sami Hyypia flinging himself at the ball to block a shot with what appeared to be his gullet, then getting to his feet as if it had troubled him no more than a bothersome fly. The players in red were quick to the ball, strong in the tackle and demonstrated the kind of collective belief and determination that makes it all the more remarkable, almost freakish, they have not been able to mount a sustained challenge to Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea in their desire to return the league title back to Anfield.
There is nothing new about Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard emphasising their stature as men for the occasion but here, too, was evidence Benitez has strong characters in every department.
There was Fernando Torres running back into his own half to pinch the ball off Zlatan Ibrahimovic's foot. At left-back, Fabio Aurelio was every bit as combative as Carragher on the opposite side of defence. Javier Mascherano patrolled the area in front of Liverpool's back four, making a number of interceptions, and a word, too, for Jose Reina, a goalkeeper who thrives on the big occasion.
Eventually, the noises began to change. When Nicolas Burdisso's evening was cut short five minutes into the second half the stadium reverberated to the sound of long, anguished howls of pent-up frustration. Shortly afterwards the first groans of discontent were audible as it slowly dawned that the damage inflicted at Anfield was irretrievable. A flicker of hope reignited when Martin Skrtel tarnished an otherwise impeccable performance by presenting Ibrahimovic with a clear run at goal but the Swede's finishing failed him and, after that, there was a sudden silence as Torres controlled Aurelio's centre, swivelled and fired his shot beyond Julio Cesar.
The thing about Torres is that he makes opponents feel old and spectators feel young. His finish was exemplary but perhaps the most impressive part was his unflinching desire not to play a peripheral role. The best players rise to the occasion, something that is frequently used as a stick to beat Cristiano Ronaldo, a player of sublime talent yet one who has seldom illuminated the Champions League on Manchester United's foreign excursions. A cursory look at the Premier League table might raise an argument Liverpool are the weakest of England's four representatives in the quarter-finals but Torres gives them something more than just a cutting edge - he gives them hope.
