Liverpool get glimpse of life after Mo Salah as Arne Slot call pays off – 5 talking points

INTER MILAN 0-1 LIVERPOOL: Dominik Szoboszlai’s late penalty saw Arne Slot record a Champions League victory as the Reds took to the field for the first time since Mo Salah’s outburst

Dominik Szoboszlai’s late penalty earned Liverpool a vital three points in the Champions League as they contended with life after Mo Salah. The attacking midfielder took duties from the spot in Salah’s absence to secure an important win.

Liverpool thought they had the lead when Ibrahima Konate headed in. VAR soon intervened and judged Hugo Ekitike to have committed handball following Virgil van Dijk’s first touch from inches away.

That moment sparked Inter into life after Liverpool had dominated the early stages. Lautaro Martinez went close on the verge of half-time but could not find the target.

That was often the issue for both teams, with opportunities not arriving with any fluency on Tuesday evening. Only when Alessandro Bastoni pulled Florian Wirtz’s shirt, and VAR came into action once again, did Liverpool find their way through in the 88th minute to clinch it.

Mirror Football takes a look at the talking points from the match.

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Life withoutSalah

After a dramatic few days, Liverpool were offered an insight into life without Mohamed Salah. They’d already had that when Arne Slot opted not to bring the Egyptian from the bench in recent times.

With just 0.06xG across the opening 25 minutes, it didn’t take too long to think that Salah’s presence could still come in handy on occasion. At the break, it was Liverpool’s sixth Champions League match that has been goalless at half-time under Slot.

While his absence has come from an unwanted outburst, Salah’s time at Liverpool was already ticking down. Not even 12 months on from signing his last new contract, the expiry of his deal in 2027 does not feel far away.

At some point, the Merseyside club have to figure out how to move on from their talisman. For the moment, it appears to be a work in progress. But Szoboszlai delivered when it mattered.

Two attackers

After significant summer signings, a formation with two strikers could yet be the answer. Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike started against Inter, though it was perhaps due to player availability, according to Arne Slot.

“The thinking behind the lineup is that there are not so many available,” he said. “In my opinion, we don’t have wingers available except for Rio who his very young.

“The most logical solution is two number nines. They [Ekitike and Isak] are good players, but it is normal that they need to find a connection together.”

That latter point was hammered home in the game as the system often left them split on the pitch. There were individual flashes but little proved convincing.

“Alexander Isak has struggled all night. He doesn’t look fit at all,” Stephen Warnock said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

It’s now December and there has been little progress on that front. Sacrificing Salah, will only add an extra spotlight onto such issues and this one must already be a concern.

Ouch

Andy Robertson needed treatment after a spicy challenge from Martinez in the opening half but the forward only picked up a yellow. Late with plenty of pace but crucially no studs up from the Argentina star.

Plenty of Liverpool fans reckoned he should have been handed his marching orders, but none were forthcoming. The question is, should pulling out absolve Martinez of the outcome Robertson clearly felt?

“It would have been a different type of challenge if he had went in with his studs,” Mark Clattenburg said on Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of the game. “He tries to pull away by pulling his legs away and that’s why he hits him with his knee even though it still injures the player.

“But I think it would have been a different colour, it could have been a red card if he had went in with his studs but I agree with a yellow card for this type of challenge.”

Alan Shearer added: “He goes in early, he makes his mind up early what he is doing but he does actually tuck his legs in and go in with his shins rather than his studs. Still, it’s a nasty challenge though.”

Handball, really?

The Premier League and the Champions League have different levels that must be met for a handball decision to be considered. It’s surprising in some ways that Hugo Ekitike’s effort was judged to warrant the overturning of Ibrahima Konate’s goal by either metric.

Undoubtedly, the ball touched Ekitike’s arm on its way to his countryman. Quite what he was meant to do at such close proximity, with little intention to alter the direction of the ball, remains uncertain.

“It’s an interesting one, because as the player is jumping, his arm does come out for elevation,” Clattenburg said on Amazon Prime. “It will just be the argument ‘was this a deliberate handball’ or not, because that handball does go to a team-mate so it gets rid of the argument that he scores the goal direct from the accidental handball. “So it will only be ‘is this arm in a natural position for jumping when the ball hits the arm’.

“What you do see is a slight movement of the arm toward the ball and I think this could end up being disallowed because of that movement of that arm going toward the ball makes the ball go toward his team-mate to score the goal.”

After four minutes of assessment, it never felt like the VAR time landed on the correct decision.

UCL progress

With nine points in five games coming into the game, Liverpool’s quest for guaranteed qualification to the knockout stages was already on the back foot. The Reds’ trip to Italy came with the pressure of having a trip to Marseille after the turn of the year.

Three points against Inter make things look a lot more comfortable with Liverpool sitting in the top eight rather than 14th.

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