Szoboszlai steps up in place of Salah to sink Inter as Liverpool fans sing Slot’s name

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The Liverpool hierarchy protected Arne Slot’s authority by axing Mohamed Salah from the Champions League trip to Milan. Instead it fell to Szoboszlai, the friend he argued should not be playing on the right ahead of him, to give Slot a precious victory after Alessandro Bastoni was penalised for pulling Florian Wirtz’s shirt in the box with minutes remaining.Liverpool had been resolute and fiercely committed to that point, well worthy of the point that was heading their way until the video assistant referee sent German official Felix Zwayer to the pitch-side monitor to review Bastoni’s foul.Slot’s name echoed around the famous old stadium as Inter’s 18-match unbeaten European run on home soil came to an unexpected end.Salah gave Liverpool no option but to leave him out of the trip to Italy.

Slot’s authority over the rest of the squad would have been seriously undermined had he travelled. Without the source of 46 Champions League goals for Liverpool the team’s highest goalscorer in the competition on the night was Virgil van Dijk, with five.Liverpool’s bench may have been threadbare but Slot was still able to field a £204m frontline partnership in Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké.

Salah’s song did not get an airing.Alessandro Bastoni commits the foul on Florian Wirtz of Liverpool to give away the vital penalty. Bradley almost fashioned a breakthrough for Ekitiké with his first touch but the striker’s first time effort struck Manuel Akanji and rebounded to Gravenberch, who skied over.Bradley made a huge impact, forcing Sommer to save at his near post before driving at the Inter defence in the lead-up to Liverpool’s penalty.