Champions League: Inter Milan 0 Liverpool 1 (Szoboszlai 88 pen)
The Liverpool hierarchy protected Arne Slot’s authority by axing Mohamed Salah from the Champions League trip to Milan. The Liverpool team followed suit by inflicting a first European home defeat on Inter since September 2022 courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai’s 88th-minute penalty. A brooding superstar with a bruised ego looked on from afar.
Salah would have been on penalty duties had he not talked himself out of a showpiece occasion at the San Siro, another legend of the game that is showing its age. Instead it fell to Szoboszlai, the friend he argued should not be playing on the right ahead of him, to give Slot a precious victory after Alessandro Bastoni was penalised for pulling Florian Wirtz’s shirt in the box with minutes remaining. Liverpool had been resolute and fiercely committed to that point, well worthy of the point that was heading their way until the video assistant referee sent German official Felix Zwayer to the pitchside monitor to review Bastoni’s foul.
Slot’s name echoed around the famous old stadium as Inter’s 18-match unbeaten European run on home soil came to an unexpected end.
Salah gave Liverpool no option but to leave him out of the trip to Italy. Slot’s authority over the rest of the squad would have been seriously undermined had he travelled. The timing of the interview at Elland Road was bad enough with Slot, Salah and his team-mates all struggling – and supposedly sticking together in adversity – but made worse by the limited options available to Liverpool in Milan. Slot was unable to fill his bench with Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo also absent. Without the source of 46 Champions League goals for Liverpool the team’s highest goalscorer in the competition on the night was Virgil van Dijk, with five.
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Liverpool’s bench may have been threadbare but Slot was still able to field a £204 million frontline partnership in Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké. The summer signings started in front of a midfield diamond in which Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister all had freedom to rotate. The result was a hugely encouraging first-half display from Liverpool that afforded better protection to their defence and sowed confusion in the Inter ranks. It took around 40 minutes for the hosts to find their rhythm and threaten.
The first notable act of the night, given the peculiar circumstances, was the sound of Slot’s name being chanted by the sizeable Liverpool support high up in the gods at San Siro. Salah’s song did not get an airing.
Inter’s uncertain start was not helped by losing midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu to injury after only 11 minutes. Central defender Francesco Acerbi followed him to the treatment room with an apparent hamstring problem 20 minutes later. Captain Lautaro Martínez also collected an early booking for a ridiculously late foul on Andy Robertson. Keeping both legs on the ground as he connected with the full back’s shins saved the striker from greater punishment.
Liverpool were controlled, measured and exploiting space around Inter’s three-man central defence. Jones forced Yann Sommer into a decent low save after weaving his way clear on the edge of the penalty area. Sommer also denied Ekitiké at his near post after the France international had been released by Ibrahima Konaté’s long ball down the right. Acerbi injured himself attempting to halt the Liverpool striker.
The French duo combined again from the resulting corner to give Liverpool what would have been a merited lead. Konaté headed home from close range after Ekitiké turned on Szoboszlai’s set-piece delivery. A first look at a replay showed the ball looping off Ekitiké’s arm yet it took almost four minutes for the match officials to disallow the goal. German referee Zwayer was sent to the pitchside monitor after two and a half minutes. Another minute later Zwayer ruled that, although the ball may have been headed on to Ekitikee’s arm by Van Dijk, the striker’s arm was in an unnatural position and the goal would not count. Such is the luck of a coach in need of a break.
Almost inevitably, Inter improved after the let-off and Martínez drew a fine save from Alisson with a bullet header from Alessandro Bastoni’s cross.
Cristian Chivu’s team were more composed on the ball after the restart but the contest remained evenly matched and, in truth, fairly uneventful. Bastoni swiped clear in front of his own goal after a flowing Liverpool move involving Ryan Gravenberch and Isak teed up Robertson for a dangerous cross from the left. When Nicolò Barella found Martínez in space 20 yards from the Liverpool goal, Van Dijk made an important block to deny the Argentina international.
Slot introduced Wirtz for the quiet Isak and Conor Bradley for Joe Gomez in the 67th minute. Bradley almost fashioned a breakthrough for Ekitiké with his first touch but the striker’s first time effort struck Manuel Akanji and rebounded to Gravenberch, who skied over. Bradley made a huge impact, forcing Sommer to save at his near post before driving at the Inter defence in the lead-up to Liverpool’s penalty. A superb night for Slot.
Meanwhile, the penalty spot also aided Tottenham to a 3-0 home win over Slavia Praha, Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons both on target after David Zima gifted the hosts an opener. And in Bergamo, Chelsea went down 2-1 away to Atalanta after two second-half goals for the Italians laid waste to Joao Pedro’s 25th-minute effort. – Guardian
