Bold claim first: Liverpool won in Milan not because Salah carried them, but because a risk-filled, wobbly lineup found a way to grind out a 1-0 win at San Siro. And this is where the story gets controversial: can a team that’s been brittle all season still scrape results when its star forward is sidelined and the balance is less than optimal?
Inter Milan 0-1 Liverpool (Dec 9, 2025) – Game Analysis summary
Liverpool overcame the absence of Mohamed Salah to secure a Champions League victory in Italy, with Dominik Szoboszlai taking responsibility by converting an 88th-minute penalty. The decision to rely on Szoboszlai as the regular penalty taker came after Salah’s public fall-out with head coach Arne Slot and the club following Saturday’s draw at Leeds. This win nudges Liverpool back into the top eight and improves their chances of avoiding the playoff round, hinting at a resistant streak that hasn’t always shown this season.
Salah’s absence was notable but not definitive; Inter arrived in strong form, having won seven of their previous nine and riding an 18-match home unbeaten run in Europe. Salah had posted about his workouts at the AXA training complex earlier in the day, but his messages suggested a fractured relationship with Slot, and a sense that someone at the club wanted him out. With Cody Gakpo injured and Federico Chiesa ill, Slot was forced to field two senior forwards, a duo who had limited time together this season.
Inter’s forward options, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, together cost around £200 million but failed to threaten consistently. They struggled to make meaningful runs or pose problems for Liverpool’s defense, and neither could prevent a defender from carrying the ball forward on several occasions. When Ekitike latched onto Ibrahima Konaté’s through-ball in a situation more familiar to Salah, the France striker chose his right foot, narrowing the angle for Yann Sommer and allowing the shot to be saved.
The partnership between Isak and Eketike appeared out of sync with the rest of the attack and with their teammates, signaling limited chemistry and understanding. A moment epitomized the disconnect: Alexis Mac Allister’s pass down the flank found Isak drifting inside, but the intended run failed to materialize as Inter sought a breakthrough.
With Salah absent, the club’s scoring burden shifted to Virgil van Dijk as the next top scorer for the team, though he contributed in other ways. On the left side of a midfield diamond, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch brought energy and threat, testing Inter’s goalkeeper Sommer on multiple occasions.
Konaté was involved again in a controversial moment when he struck a close-range header in the opponents’ box. Though the ball initially went in, it was ruled out after a four-minute VAR check, with the right call given the ball’s contact on Ekitike’s upper arm.
Inter closed the first half strongly, with Nicolò Barella’s free kick narrowly missing and Alisson Becker denying Lautaro Martínez with a sharp save. The second half saw Isak replaced by Florian Wirtz as the tempo shifted, with the German international’s entrance signaling a more aggressive approach. A pivotal moment occurred when Bastoni was flagged for shirt-pulling in the box, earning Liverpool a decisive penalty well into the closing stages.
In the end, Szoboszlai’s spot-kick sealed the win, a result that underscored a possible strategic pivot for Liverpool: even without Salah, there’s room for resilience, smarter set-piece execution, and a shift in responsibility among the squad. Slot’s management drew attention for his tactical decisions and his ability to keep a brittle group focused enough to close out a tough away fixture.
Questions this match raises: Is the Salah controversy now behind Liverpool, or could it resurface as the season progresses? How sustainable is a system that relies on a late-game penalty to win away from home? And what does this say about Inter’s approach when facing a compact away defense with a mixture of high-priced attackers who struggle for rhythm? Share your take in the comments: should Liverpool lean into this new solidity, or does this performance mask deeper fragility?
