Liverpool beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League with a late penalty, securing a crucial victory amidst a public dispute with star forward Mohamed Salah
MILAN: Liverpool secured a vital 1-0 Champions League victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday.
The win came amid a damaging public row between the club and star forward Mohamed Salah, who did not travel for the match.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored a late penalty to give the Reds three crucial points in the league phase.
Salah was left in England after criticising manager Arne Slot over the weekend, having been benched for three consecutive matches.
“The relationship with the coach is not there,” Salah had said, claiming he felt “thrown under the bus” by the club.
Slot admitted on Monday he had “no clue” if Salah had played his last game for Liverpool.
The match itself was largely uneventful until the decisive penalty award in the latter stages.
Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot for a light shirt tug by Alessandro Bastoni on Florian Wirtz, a decision that enraged Inter’s players.
Szoboszlai rifled the penalty home to give Slot a positive result after a troubled few days.
Liverpool had a first-half header from Ibrahima Konate ruled out after a lengthy VAR check for a handball in the build-up.
Inter created very little against an injury-hit Liverpool side also missing Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo.
The victory moves Liverpool onto 12 points, inside the top eight positions which offer direct qualification for the last 16.
Inter sit fifth on the same points tally but have now lost their last two European fixtures.
The defeat puts pressure on Inter ahead of their final two matches against Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.
Salah’s outburst has sparked intense speculation over his future, with Saudi Arabia stating it will do “whatever it can” to sign him in January.
The 33-year-old only signed a new contract with Liverpool in April. – AFP
