Liverpool shrugged off the internal turmoil surrounding Mohamed Salah to secure a vital 1-0 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday. Dominik Szoboszlai converted an 88th-minute penalty to decide the contest, lifting Arne Slot’s side into the top eight of the Champions League standings on 12 points.
The win elevates the Reds, who arrived in Italy without their star forward after Salah was excluded from the squad following his public claims that he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club. "Huge result. We knew we were coming to a tough place... We had to show fight and dig in," defender Andy Robertson said after the match.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was the cloud surrounding the match. Liverpool thought they had taken the lead in the first half through an Ibrahima Konate header, but the goal was disallowed after a lengthy review determined the ball had struck Hugo Ekitike’s arm in the buildup.
The deciding moment came late in the second half when substitute Florian Wirtz, introduced alongside Conor Bradley to spark the attack, went down under a shirt tug from Alessandro Bastoni. After another review, the referee pointed to the spot, and Szoboszlai smashed the ball past Yann Sommer.
Manager Arne Slot, under pressure following a run of poor form and the Salah controversy, praised his team's resilience given the distractions. Addressing the situation with the Egyptian forward, Slot suggested the next steps rely on self-reflection. "It's never nice to see something like this happen to one of your teammates," Slot told Amazon Prime.
"Everyone makes mistakes in life, so the first thing should be: does the player think he's made a mistake as well? tonight should be about all the players who are here."
Slot admitted that while the penalty decision was fortunate compared to Premier League standards, the performance was "all I could ask for."
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk acknowledged the difficulty of playing amidst the "noise" surrounding his teammate but emphasized the squad's professional focus. "Obviously, between Mo and the club, things are going on. There are consequences, he's not here today to help us try to get the three points," Van Dijk stated.
"I don't think I'm the one to speak about if someone has to apologise for anything. I think it's him airing his feelings over the last couple of days, and that's something that the club has to deal with."
Tactically, Slot was forced to adapt, utilizing a midfield diamond and starting summer signings Alexander Isak and Ekitike together due to injuries to Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa. The loss ended Inter Milan’s 18-match unbeaten home run in European competition, dropping the Serie A side to fifth place.
"It’s tough to lose this game, the positive side is if we play like this, we win most games," Inter defender Manuel Akanji said. For Liverpool, the result halts a worrying run of form and offers a reprieve for Slot as the team navigates a challenging schedule without their top scorer.