A VAR-plagued night at the San Siro ultimately derailed Liverpool’s fortunes as Arne Slott’s side secured a much-needed victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League.
The much-maligned Ibrahima Konate thought he had silenced his critics by nodding home from close range in the first half, but was ruled out for handball after a lengthy VAR check.
Liverpool were initially at a disadvantage, but they ended up benefiting from VAR. The visitors were awarded a penalty for review when Florian Wirtz collapsed inside the Inter area, and Dominik Szoboszlai converted the penalty in the 88th minute to score the goal.
The three points not only gave Slott a much-needed reprieve from the noise after a week in which he was embroiled in a public spat with Mohamed Salah, but they also strengthened Liverpool’s position in Europe as they move into the top eight in the league and aim to qualify for the knockout stages.
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Clinton Morrison gives his thoughts on Liverpool’s victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Much of the pre-match talk centered on the absence of Salah, who was left out of the traveling squad, claiming he had been “thrown under the bus” during the Reds’ recent poor run of form.
Slott found themselves in a difficult situation and were forced to start Ekitike and Alexander Isak up top, leaving their team without an Egyptian player.
Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike controls the ball next to Inter Milan’s Markus Thuram
But it was the visitors who had a more positive view of last season’s Champions League finalists. The pressure seemed to pay off as Konate scored from close range from a terrible corner.
Ibrahima Konate saw his first-half goal canceled out for a handball on Hugo Ekitike
Ekitike was ahead of Alessandro Bastoni, but the first contact with his header caused the ball to fall onto his arm, and Konate was the quickest to react, beating Jan Sommer to score the goal.
However, after a five-minute VAR review, referee Felix Zweier chalked the goal away as a result of Ekitike’s arm deflecting it.
From that point on, the match was completely devoid of quality, with Lautaro Martinez and Conor Bradley being the closest for either team.
However, the deadlock would eventually be broken as VAR once again took the floor.
Wirtz, a substitute, appeared to go down quietly after his shirt was pulled by Bastoni, but the play was waved at first.
Zweier again reversed his initial decision and allowed Szoboszlai to convert from 12 yards, saving the traveling Liverpool support.
Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates after scoring a penalty against Inter Milan
As a result, Liverpool have moved up to 8th place in the Champions League, and are level on points with Inter in 5th place after six games.
Slot questions when salah understands mistakes
Arne Slott questioned whether manager Mohamed Salah knew whether his recent comments were a mistake.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, manager Arne Slott quickly tried to shift his focus to his players, but when asked if he could reconcile with the exiled Salah, he questioned whether his players understood they had made a mistake.
“Obviously, a lot of things are being said and I think that always affects the team a little bit,” Slott said.
“If you’ve been in the dressing room you know it’s about the manager and the players with the club, but it usually affects the players a little bit too, especially because he’s so good and so influential.
“It’s never nice to see something like this happen to one of your teammates.
“All the focus should be on that tonight. If you go to the press conference on Friday, you’ll fully understand that all the questions will be about Mo, but I think it’s what these players deserve that we talk about them now.”
“Everyone makes mistakes in life, so the first thing to think about is whether the player believes he has made mistakes too.
“Then the next question is, should the initiative come from me or from him? That’s another question to answer. But like I said, the focus tonight should be about Virgil, for example, because the fans are singing for him.”
Van Dijk: Outside noise does not change our focus.
Virgil van Dijk has admitted there is an urgent need to resolve Mo Salah’s future at Liverpool.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said this in an interview with Amazon Prime.
“There’s obviously a lot of noise from the outside world, but that’s completely normal, especially if you’re not performing under these circumstances.
“It’s up to us to perform on the pitch because that’s the only thing we can control. We want to improve, we want to be consistent and we want to win games.
“It’s difficult, but we’re all collectively in a difficult situation. Obviously, things are progressing between Mo and the club. There are results, but he’s not here today to help us get the three points. That’s the reality, but I don’t think anything will change in terms of our focus, our determination to get results for the football club.”
“If someone has to apologize for something, I don’t think I’m the one to talk about it. I think it’s him who has let his feelings out in the last few days and that’s something the club has to deal with.”
“The reality is that Mo is going to Africa for the weekend. That’s also true. There’s an urgency. So we don’t have a lot of time. The fact is, I’ve known Mo for a long time. We’re good friends and we’ve been through good times and bad. He’s been a big part of my success at the club in my football career. I’ve been a big part of his success.”
Robertson: “I want to continue playing with Salah”
Andy Robertson admits he wants to continue playing alongside Mohamed Salah
Liverpool’s Andy Robertson said on Amazon Prime:
“For me in handball, if it takes seven or eight minutes to come to a decision, you have to stick to the decision on the field.
“If VAR is taking so long to make a decision, we have to stick to what it says. The penalty looked soft, but penalties are given elsewhere on the pitch.”
About Mohamed Salah:
“It’s a tough situation. For me, he’s one of the best players to play at this club. He’s been incredible for us. I signed him at the same time and we’ve been through a lot of ups and downs.
“Whatever happens, it happens internally. We’re all together in the locker room, and you could see that today.
“I love playing with Mo Salah and I want to continue playing with him.”
Sherwood: Saravan is out of order. Slott is not his babysitter
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Tim Sherwood feels Mo Salah was ‘not in form’ following comments after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds
Sky Sports’ Tim Sherwood did not hold back in his assessment of Salah’s actions, calling his pre-match comments “outrageous”.
“Let’s be honest, he’s one of the best imports we’ve ever had in the Premier League,” Sherwood said.
“But it’s unpleasant for him to come out and do something like this. I don’t like it.
“The club is in turmoil and he knows it. The last thing the club needs is to add this on top of that. “If you’re the manager, you have the right to do whatever you want with the selection of players and the team.
“Unless there’s something going on behind the scenes. If it’s purely Arne Slott making him miss three games and throwing toys out of his pram, then he’s completely out of shape.
“It’s a shame they strengthened their forward positions. If they want to remove Mo Salah, they have several options and he’s not playing well.
“For some reason he feels he has the right to play whenever he is fit to play. That’s not the case. A manager should not be a babysitter for Mo Salah. He is there to be a manager.”
