Liverpool Stun Inter Milan Without Salah In a Wild San Siro Finish
Liverpool Arrive Without Their Biggest Star
Liverpool walked into San Siro without Mohamed Salah after his explosive outburst at the weekend. The Egyptian stayed home, posting a quiet gym selfie while the team travelled to Italy. His absence left Arne Slot with only two senior forwards, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. Despite the drama, Liverpool showed something they’ve lacked all season: real resilience.
Inter Start Strong But Can’t Break Liverpool
Inter Milan came into the game flying, with seven wins in their last nine matches and an 18-game unbeaten European home streak. Liverpool struggled early as Inter’s defence carried the ball freely through midfield, while Isak and Ekitike offered little danger. Ekitike’s big first-half moment came when he raced onto Ibrahima Konaté’s through-ball in Salah’s usual position. But instead of opening his body like Salah would, he narrowed the angle and Yann Sommer pushed the shot away with ease.
Miscommunication and Missed Moments
Liverpool’s new front duo has barely played together, and it showed. Alexis Mac Allister slipped a clever ball behind Manuel Akanji, but Isak ran the wrong way. Without Salah’s 46 Champions League goals, the attack lacked sharpness, but Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch forced strong saves from Sommer. Konaté thought he had scored when he nodded in from close range, but VAR ruled the ball had hit Ekitike’s upper arm. After a four-minute check, the goal disappeared.
Inter Push Before the Break
Inter threatened late in the half. Nicolò Barella whipped a free kick wide and Alisson Becker denied Lautaro Martínez with a brilliant stop. Liverpool were hanging on, but they survived.
The Tide Turns In The Second Half
Both Liverpool strikers increased their intensity as the match grew more physical. Isak was replaced by £100m man Florian Wirtz, and that change flipped the game on its head. Wirtz drove into the box and tempted Alessandro Bastoni into pulling his shirt. The referee pointed to the spot. With Salah absent, the responsibility fell to Dominik Szoboszlai.
Szoboszlai Becomes the Hero
In the 88th minute, Szoboszlai stepped up with ice in his veins. He buried the penalty, silencing San Siro and lifting Liverpool back into the Champions League top eight. Fans ended the night singing Arne Slot’s name. A messy, chaotic, emotional win—but a huge one. And maybe the first real sign of Liverpool growing tougher under their new coach.
