Key stats
- This was Liverpool's sixth Champions League match that has been goalless at half time under Arne Slot. They've gone on to win each of them without conceding a single goal (10 scored).
- This was the earliest that Inter Milan have made two or more subs in a Champions League game (Çalhanoğlu and Acerbi by the 31st minute).
- Joe Gomez made his first Champions League start in 364 days, since featuring in an away victory against Girona in December 2024.
Highlights
Analysis
Dominik Szoboszlai starred for Liverpool, and his Flashscore rating of 7.8 earned him the Man of the Match in a game the Reds largely controlled.
Match report
Liverpool travelled to Italy without Mohamed Salah after the forward was left out of the squad for his post-match rant following Saturday’s 3-3 draw against Leeds United, where he hit out at the club and Arne Slot as he claimed that he had been thrown “under the bus".
Salah’s teammates did their utmost to put all the outside noise aside to make an encouraging start against Inter, with Curtis Jones forcing Yann Sommer into action in the opening 20 minutes.
Ibrahima Konaté then briefly thought he had opened the scoring when he headed home just past the half-hour mark. However, the defender was denied his second goal of the league phase after Hugo Ekitike was penalised for a handball from Virgil van Dijk’s knockdown following a lengthy VAR review.
Inter grew into the half following that reprieve and threatened to establish a HT lead through Lautaro Martínez, whose powerful header tested Alisson's quick reactions.
The chances dried up after the interval as the respective attacks struggled against two stubborn backlines. The lack of goalmouth action prompted Hugo Ekitike to take aim from distance with an effort that proved comfortable for the experienced Sommer.
The first real chance of the second period arrived in the 80th minute when Conor Bradley found rare space in the Inter box, but he could only fire straight at Sommer at the near post.
Just as the game looked destined to finish goalless, Liverpool were presented with the chance to snatch all three points from the spot, after Alessandro Bastoni was controversially penalised for a slight shirt tug on Florian Wirtz.
Szoboszlai assumed responsibility to convincingly thump his penalty out of Sommer’s reach, sealing a win that moves the Reds up to eighth spot and level on points with fifth-placed Inter, who have now suffered back-to-back defeats in the UCL.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
Click here to see all the stats of the match.
Post-match reaction
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson told Amazon Prime: "(It was a) huge result. We knew we were coming to a tough place, to a team that's in a good moment. We had to show fight and dig in. The clean sheet was crucial and then we go and scored the goal.
"The handball for me, I think it took seven or eight minutes. If you do that, then you have to stick to the on-field decision. You have to stick to the decision. The penalty did look soft but that's given anywhere else on the pitch.
"We all needed it. We know the results and performances aren't good enough. It's important this club is in the Champions League. It was a huge result for all of us."
On Salah's absence, he added: "A tough situation. We're talking about one of the greatest players to play for this club. I signed in the same window as him. Whatever has happened, happened. Internally, we're all together."
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said their match against Inter was "always going to be tough."
"It's a good feeling of winning. Especially in a period we are in, trying to find consistency and something to build on. Hopefully tonight is one of those performances. It was always going to be tough," he told Amazon Prime.
"We handled the game well. It could have been a 0-0 game in the end but it ended positively for us in the end."
"There's obviously so much noise from the outside world, which is normal when you don't perform. It's deserved as well. We want to improve, we want to be consistent and win games. We're not doing it as much as we like. We have to stick together and be a unit as we have been. That's what Liverpool stands for."
Turning his attention to the Mo Salah situation, he said: "It's difficult but it's a collective difficult situation that we're all in. Between Mo and the club, things are going on and he's not here today, that's the reality. I don't think anything has changed in terms of our focus and determination."
Liverpool boss Arne Slot, responding to questions on Mo Salah, told Amazon Prime: "Everyone makes mistakes in life but does the player know he's made a mistake? Should the initiative come from him or me? That's another question. Ibou Konate has had some difficult moments lately but he played an outstanding game.
"After PSV and Forest games, where we conceded seven goals in two games, it was time for us to concede less and that's what we did against West Ham. Then we played Sunderland and their first chance came in the 86th minute. Their first goal wasn't even a chance and then came Leeds.
"We showed character in the second half and changed the tactics a little bit."